Apparently cognate with Dutch poes cat, also call-name for a cat (1683 also puis 1561), Middle Low German pūse, German regional (Low German) Puus cat (also Puus-katte, Puus-man ), Danish pus, call-name for a cat, Swedish regional pus (also katte-pus ) further etymology uncertain (perhaps ultimately simply representing a call to attract a cat) compare also Lithuanian puižė, familiar name for a cat, puž, puiž, call to attract a cat, Irish puisín (with diminutive suffix) pussy cat, (regional) puis puis, call to attract a cat.Īnd the diminutive/hypocoristic ending -y|-ie has been around since the early 16th century: The etymology of pussy is fairly straightforward: the base puss isĪpparently a word inherited from Germanic. Also (in later use chiefly): weak, cowardly". The OED separates out the adjectival uses as subentry B., glossed "Exhibiting characteristics associated with a cat cat-like.
Slang 193 Pussy, an effeminate boy.Īnd of course also sense A.3.a (noted as coarse slang) "The female genitals the vulva or vagina", with citations from 1699 forwards, and various extensions and expressions thereon based. 65 You ought to hear some of the docs that are the sweetest old pussies with their patients-the way they bawl out the nurses.ġ934 M. Corelli’ God's Good Man xxi, I shall invite Roxmouth and his tame pussy, Mr. Also: a male homosexual", with the earliest citations from the first half of the 20th century:ġ904 ‘M. A sweet or effeminate male (in later use chiefly) a weakling, a coward, a sissy. Then there's an extended sense, glossed as " slang (chiefly N. Hv, You shall haue euery sawcy boy.to catch vp a woman & marie her… So he haue his pretie pussie to huggle withall, it forceth not. 209 Adew, my pretty pussy, Yow pynche me very nere.ġ583 P. Wright Songs & Ballads Reign Philip & Mary (1860) lxxiv. sweetness or amiability", with citations back to the 15th century:Ī1560 in T. The OED glosses pussy 2 as (sense A.1.a.) "A girl or woman exhibiting characteristics associated with a cat, esp.
needs to clear this up is the Oxford English Dictionary. Your browser does not support the audio element.Įxecutive summary: As languagehat observes in the comments, the pusillanimous → pussy theory is "preposterous balderdash, or if you prefer, utter bullshit". You can read The Guardian's description, or just listen to the audio (from here): I did some google-sleuthing, and found that it has clearly been claimed in the past to be true and is often refuted by people who can't evenįor those not paying attention to our current political circus, Donald Trump recently called Ted Cruz a "pussy" for not strongly supporting the use of water-boarding and "a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding" in interrogating terrorist suspects. I had never heard this before, and I'm fairly well-read. But now TPM has gone and printed a reader email linking 'pussy' to pusillanimous'. You're no doubt aware of Trump's recent comment, quoting a supporter.
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