Where does “pussy” come from?
Pussy derives from English pus, Latin pus, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, Latin -ia, Proto-Indo-European -kos, Proto-Indo-European -kos.
pussy (English): A cat; An affectionate term for a woman or girl,...
Definitions
- A cat; An affectionate term for a woman or girl,...
Ancestry of “pussy”, step by step
pussy traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English pursy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pursy | Out of breath; short of breath, especially due to... |
| 2 | Middle English | pursyf | asthmatic, pursy |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | porsif | — |
| 4 | French | poussif | wheezy |
| 5 | French | pousser | to push; to urge on, encourage; to grow |
| 6 | Latin | pulsare | present active infinitive of pulsō; second-person... |
| 7 | Latin | pulso | I push, strike, beat, batter, hammer; knock on;... |
| 8 | Latin | pulsus | pulse, impulse, beat, stroke; expelled, kicked... |
| 9 | Latin | pellō | to push, drive, hurl, impel, propel; expel, banish, eject, thrust out |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | pelnō | approach, go to; bring close |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pelh₂- | to approach |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pel- | to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold |
via English puss
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | puss | A cat; A girl or young woman, or any child; A... |
| 2 | Middle High German | pūse | — |
| 3 | Middle French | pause | pause (brief cessation) |
| 4 | Latin | pausa | a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | παῦσις | stopping, ceasing |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -σῐς | "suffix forming nouns" |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -τις | retained after dentals |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |
via English pus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pus | A whitish-yellow or yellow substance composed... |
| 2 | Latin | pus | pus; foul, corrupt matter |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | pūs | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | púH-os ~ púH-es-os | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | puH- | rotten, foul |