Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pussums” come from?

pussums (English) comes from English puss, from Middle High German pūse, from Middle French pause, from Latin pausa, from Ancient Greek παῦσις, from Ancient Greek -σῐς, from Ancient Greek -τις, from Proto-Indo-European -tis — Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots.

pussums (English): A term of endearment for a cat

Definitions

  1. A term of endearment for a cat

Ancestry of “pussums”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpussA cat; A girl or young woman, or any child; A...
2Middle High Germanpūse—
3Middle Frenchpausepause
4Latinpausaa pause, halt, stop, cessation, end
5Ancient Greekπαῦσιςstopping, ceasing
6Ancient Greek-σῐς"suffix forming nouns"
7Ancient Greek-τιςEarlier form of -σις , retained after dentals δ,...
8Proto-Indo-European-tisDerives abstract/action nouns from verb roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tis →