puss en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- po͝os cat, woman, vulva; mouth, face
- /pʉs/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
- /pʊs/ cat, woman, vulva; mouth, face
Etymology
Probably from Middle Low German pūse, pūskatte or Dutch poes (“puss, cat”, also slang for “vulva”), ultimately from a common Germanic word for cat, perhaps ultimately imitative of a sound made to get its attention (compare Arabic بسة (bissa)). Akin to West Frisian poes, Low German Puus, Puuskatte, Danish pus, dialectal Swedish kattepus, Norwegian pus. Found also in several other European, North African and Asian languages; compare Romanian pisică, Persian پیشی (piši), Tamil பூசை (pūcai), Tagalog pusa and Sardinian pisittu.
Meanings
-
(countable, informal, often, term-of-address, uncountable) A cat.
Come here, puss! I've got some milk for you.
Our local theatre is showing Puss in Boots.
- (countable, dated, endearing, uncountable) A girl or young woman, or any child.
-
(countable, dated, uncountable) A hare.
Mention a hare to Master Twyti and, although he would still go on galloping after the wretched hart which seemed to be his destiny, he would gallop with one eye over his shoulder yearning for puss.
1958, T[erence] H[anbury] White, chapter 16, in The Once and Future King, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, book I (The Sword in the Stone):He then began to beat about, in the ſame Language, and in the ſame Manner, as if he had been beating for a Hare, and at laſt cried out, 'Soho! Puſs is not far off. Here's her Form, upon my Soul; I believe I may cry ſtole away.'
1749, Henry Fielding, “In which is seen a more moving Spectacle, than all the Blood in the Bodies of Thwackum and Blifil and of Twenty other such, is capable of producing”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume II, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book V, page 220:'[…] It won't kill Puss any better for that.' / "'But, goodness gracious, what can that hare be made of?' I asked.
1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], “A Day with the Capercailzies”, in H. L. Brækstad, transl., Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 77:
- (countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar) The vulva (female genitalia).
-
(metonymically, slang, uncountable, vulgar) Sex with a woman.
So don't know! So, what are you gonna do? Sell your birthright for a little bit of puss?
1986, Tim Kazurinsky, Denise DeClue, About Last Night, spoken by Bernie (Jim Belushi):
- (Canada, US, countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar) A coward; a wuss; someone who is unable to stand up for themselves.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| pusses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
puss in a bag · puss-gentleman · beaglepuss · sea-puss · puss-puss · glamourpuss · sour puss · gigglepuss · puss caterpillar · puss in the corner · puss moth · puss out · sea puss · pusslike