catamite
pronunciation
How to pronounce catamite in British English:
UK [ˈkætəmaɪt]
How to pronounce catamite in American English:
US [ˈkætəˌmaɪt]
Word Origin
- catamite (n.)
- "boy used in pederasty," 1590s, from Latin Catamitus, corruption of Ganymedes, the name of the beloved cup-bearer of Jupiter (see Ganymede). Cicero used it as a contemptuous insult against Antonius.
Example
- 1. I don 't know how I 'm going to break it to his catamite .
- 2. Just enough time for me to get dressed as a catamite , if l knew what it was .
- 3. He successfully defended a libel action against him by lord alfred douglas , oscar wilde 's former catamite , but that and the souring of his marriage determined him to leave england for russia in 1913 .