catly

adj

"catly" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“catly” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or pertaining to cats; feline.

Corpus desk

Index EN-catly · catly · English

catly · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for catly
PropertyValue
Headwordcatly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “catly” in English

catlyfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

catly is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Of or pertaining to cats; feline.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for catly in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cat + -ly. Compare catlike. The correct English form is catly, spelled C-A-T-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to cats; feline.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how catly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Automatically, he scanned the premises for catly mischief, just as Nick Bamba scanned a vacated guest room for missing lightbulbs and dripping hot water faucets.
  2. Patches rubbed his face on Roxbury's leg in a catly way. Patches stretched out and rolled over, and Whiskers tickled the kitten's neck, shoulders, and upper belly. “I'm their natural science teacher,” said Tiffany in a catly voice as she bent her knees to pet Patches without looking at him.

Etymology

From cat + -ly. Compare catlike.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "catly"?
"catly" is spelled C-A-T-L-Y.
What does "catly" mean?
As an adjective, "catly" means: Of or pertaining to cats; feline.
What is the origin of the word "catly"?
From cat + -ly. Compare catlike. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list