Etymograph

English

kata

Kata comes from Japanese 型.

  1. Japanesemodern型1literally ‘pattern, model’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1979kata1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English kata
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Masatoshi Nakayama, Best Karate: Heian: “About fifty kata, or "formal exercises," are practiced at…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Japanesemodern型Wiktionary, English kataliterally ‘pattern, model’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1979kataWiktionary, English kata. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Masatoshi Nakayama, Best Karate: Heian: “About fifty kata, or "formal exercises," are practiced at…”

The story

In English use since the 1950s.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Japanese 型

Another origin of kata

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱóm‘beside, with’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱm̥-th₂uncertain
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kətáreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκατάkatá‘downwards’
  5. Englishtodaykata

Today it means

noun Any of a sequence of positions and movements used in many martial arts.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “kata”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Japanese 型 / kata

Shirt and support for this word