What Does “A Dout of Cats” Mean?
“Dout” is one of the more obscure entries in the cat collective-noun family, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. It shows up in older regional word lists alongside its close cousin “dowt,” but a clear, verifiable origin story for either isn’t something we could confirm.
One possible thread: “dout” is an old contraction of “do out,” an archaic phrase meaning to extinguish or put out (as in dousing a flame), still faintly preserved in the modern word “douse.” Whether that connects meaningfully to cats, perhaps evoking how quickly and quietly they can vanish from a room, is speculation rather than documented fact, and we’d rather say so plainly than invent a tidier explanation.
What’s certain is that “dout,” like several other obscure terms on this site, survives mostly through inclusion in collective-noun lists like this one rather than everyday use, a small linguistic curiosity kept alive by cat enthusiasts and word nerds alike.
Example: “The old farmhouse listing joked about coming with ‘a dout of cats’ already in residence.”
Other Collective Nouns for Cats
A group of cats goes by more than one name. You might also hear:
- A Clowder of Cats
- A Cluster of Cats
- A Clutter of Cats
- A Dowt of Cats
- A Glaring of Cats
- A Kindle of Cats
- A Litter of Cats
Related: Collective Nouns for Mammals