Felicitous Felinity (2)—Contumely

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series Felicitous Felinity.
A year ago on Round and Square (7 July 2012)—Asian Ethnicities 1B: Han
Two years ago on Round and Square (7 July 2011)—Middles: T.S. Eliot's "Marina"

[a] Obey RF

Contumely.

We reach another dimension of feline life and vocabulary today. If you are a longtime reader of Round and Square, you know that I have already written about "feline overlordship" and the prostration of human beings to their every whim. And this reminds me of two of my favorite sayings about cats:

Cats don't have owners; they have "staff."

Cats were worshiped as gods in ancient Egypt; 

they have never forgotten this.

Contumely—haughty, imperious (and a little overbearing). Their "humans" still click into action for their every whim. Take a look at the greatest practitioner of the English language who ever lived. He employed the word in a little soliloquy that starts something like this: 2B or Knot 2B...

Hamlet...Contumely

con·tume·ly 

noun \kän-ˈtü-mə-lē, kən-, -ˈtyü-; ˈkän-tü-ˌmē-lē, -tyü-ˌ, -chə-ˌ; in “Hamlet” ˈkän-(ˌ)tyüm-lē or ˈkän-chəm-\  
plural con·tume·lies
Definition of CONTUMELY 
: harsh language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt; also : an instance of such language or treatment 
Origin of CONTUMELY 
Middle English contumelie, from Middle French, from Latin contumelia 
First Known Use: 14th century

[b] I said "obey" RF

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Contumely. Now we come to the twist that I didn't tell you about in the introduction. If your native language is not English, go to the comments section and give a rough translation that "works" for you. I am hoping to get a whole passel of approximations for "contumely" in languages ranging from Arabic to Polish to Xhosa to Zulu. And, of course they will be approximations. Language doesn't have exact equivalents. That would be boring.

And, if you really want to think about how to make use of vocabulary, use a sentence that you might actually speak or write. 

          The governor's silly, harsh contumelies about the lack of harmony in society 
          have worn thin with the voters, who would far prefer that he actually govern.

Contumely. It is haughty and overbearing when it comes to politicians, but I just click into obedient step when the kits want their food, warm blankets, and ear scratches. They run the show, and we are mere homo sapiens automatons...with big, football-sized brains that teach us all sorts of ways to follow the lead of our feline overlords. 

Contumely. 

It's not just for dinner anymore.

[c] Sleepy-haughty RF