catamite

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catamite

/ˈkætəmaɪt/

Where it comes from

From Latin catamītus (“boy kept as a sexual partner”), from Catamītus, from Etruscan 𐌂𐌀𐌕𐌌𐌉𐌕𐌄 (catmite), from Ancient Greek Γανυμήδης (Ganumḗdēs, “Ganymede”), an attractive Trojan boy supposedly abducted to Mount Olympus by the god Zeus to become his cupbearer and lover. Doublet of Ganymede.

noun catamites

A boy or younger man in a homoerotic relationship with an older man. It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.
Similar: Ganymede, punk, gunsel

verb catamites · catamiting · catamited

To engage in a homoerotic relationship involving a boy and an older man.

Translations

Every language

noun catamite

Español	catamito
日本語	陰間 kagema, 稚児 chigo
中文	孌童 /娈童 luántóng
हिन्दी	विदूषक vidūṣak
Português	catamita
Français	catamite
Deutsch	Lustknabe
Русский	катами́т katamít
العربية	مَأْبُون maʔbūn
עברית	קָדֵשׁ qadésh

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Cite this

MLA

"catamite." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/catamite. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

catamite. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/catamite

Chicago

"catamite." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/catamite.

BibTeX

@misc{catamite_2026,
  title = {catamite},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/catamite},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}