Catlike is a compound of cat (Old English catt) + like. Describes the stealth and grace associated with cats. The historical trail runs through catt in Old English. Morphologically, catlike is transparent: it is a compound of cat (Old English catt) + like. Used as an adjective, catlike now means "resembling a cat in stealth, grace, or agility", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as cat and feline. The modern word remains analyzable through its parts, which makes the semantic connection unusually direct.