Grimalkin
An archaic term for a cat, associated with witchcraft and Scottish faery lore.
Grimalkin is an archaic term for a cat, stemming from "grey" (the colour) plus "malkin," an archaic term with several meanings (a low class woman, a weakling, a mop, or a name) derived from a hypocoristic form of the female name Maud. Scottish legend makes reference to the grimalkin as a faery cat that dwells in the highlands. During the early modern period, the name grimalkin – and cats in general – became associated with the devil and witchcraft. Women tried as witches in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries were often accused of having a familiar, frequently a grimalkin.
Lore & Background
In Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 1, the First Witch says, "I come, Graymalkin" to her familiar (Shakespeare 1.1.8). In Roger Zelazny's fantasy novel A Night in the Lonesome October (1993), "Graymalk" is the name of a cat owned by a witch, possibly in reference to Macbeth.
More in Characters & Figures
Elsewhere in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
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