Standard Lemma guide

kitty-come-down-the-lane-jump-up-and-kiss-me

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A flowering plant of the species Arum maculatum.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Kent, UK, dialectal, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Adam and Eve, adder's meat, adder's root, arum, arum lily, bobbins, cows and bulls, cuckoopint, cuckoo-plant, devils and angels, friar's cowl, Jack-in-the-pulpit, lamb-in-a-pulpit, lord-and-lady, lords-and-ladies, naked boys, snake's head, starch-root, wakerobin, wild arum, kitty-come-down-the-lane-jump-up-and-kiss-me

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English kitty Proto-Indo-European *gwem- Proto-Indo-European *gwémt Proto-Germanic *kwemaną Proto-West Germanic *kweman Old English cuman Middle English comen English come Middle English doun English down English the English lane English jump Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Germanic *ub Proto-Germanic *upp Proto-West Germanic *upp Old English upp Middle English up English up Proto-Indo-European *h2ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h2énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h2énti Proto-Germanic *andi Old English and Middle English and English and Proto-Indo-European *kw(e)s-der. Proto-Germanic *kussaz Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *kussijaną Proto-West Germanic *kussijan Old English cyssan Middle English kissen English kiss English me English kitty-come-down-the-lane-jump-up-and-kiss-me From kitty + come + down + the + lane + jump + up + and + kiss + me. The origin of its name is uncertain; "Kitty" was a common placeholder name for a young woman in folktales. To "come down the lane" possibly refers to where a rural walker or forager would stumble across it, "Jump up and kiss me" possibly refers to how the plant appears in the early spring.