- Is "lunatic cat" like "crazy cat" or "it's nonsense, they don't say so", or something else?
- According to https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/lunatic there is a connection to the moon (see "origin"). Could native speaker imagine "lunatic cat" as "moon cat"?
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2A "moon cat" would probably called a lunar cat. – Cascabel Jan 15 '19 at 16:12
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Using cat standards, I'd consider it to be "normal". – Hot Licks Jan 16 '19 at 14:44
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There is only one modern adjectival meaning of 'lunatic' and it is:
- "silly in a dangerous way", or "wildly foolish"
There is an old meaning of "mentally ill", but the term would never be used of someone actually mentally ill today. 'crazy' would be a good synonym.
So a 'lunatic cat' would be a cat that behaved dangerously, or 'wildly foolishly'.
The etymology does derive from 'lunar' for the moon, but the modern meanings do not relate to the moon. The adjective for 'of or pertaining to the moon' would be 'lunar'.
answered Jan 15 '19 at 16:34
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2Or to answer the OP directly, no, 'lunatic' evokes nothing about the moon to a modern speaker. – Mitch Jan 15 '19 at 17:55
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ok, then how offensive sounds "lunatic" (meaning "silly in a dangerous way")? could a person be offended if named so? could a cat owner be offended if his cat is named so? – Vlad Bokov Jan 16 '19 at 15:59
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It depends. Someone who thinks they are a safe driver would be offended if told they "drive like a lunatic". But an extreme skateboarder is probably pleased being told they "skateboard like a lunatic". – DJClayworth Jan 16 '19 at 16:42
