what is grimalkin
For other uses, see Grimalkin (disambiguation). A grimalkin (also called a greymalkin) is an archaic term for a cat. The term stems from grey (the colour) plus malkin, an archaic term with several meanings (a cat, 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. The term/name may first come from Beware the Cat (published 1570) by William Baldwin. The novel is a story of talking cats, and part of it relates the story of the Grimalkin's death.