puss

Meaning

(informal) A cat.
A girl or young woman, or any child.
A hare.
(slang) The vulva (female genitalia).
(slang) Sex with a woman.
(slang) A coward; a wuss; someone who is unable to stand up for themselves.

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/pʊs/

Probably from Middle Low German pūs, pūskatte or Dutch poes (“puss, cat”, 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.

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