Pussy
Encyclopedia
Pussy is an English
word meaning:
(OED) says that the word puss is common to several Germanic languages
, usually as a call name for the cat — not a synonym for cat, as it is in English.
The Oxford English Dictionary and Webster's Third International Dictionary
point out similarities with words including:
The medieval
French
word pucelle referred to a young adolescent girl or a virgin, although this comes from a slang term for virginity puce (= flea
) rather than referring to cats (but cf. French
chatte (female cat), a current vulgarism for the female genitalia). In the 17th century, the term was also used to refer to women in general. Philip Stubbs
, an English pamphleteer
, wrote in his 1583 book "The Anatomie of Abuses" that "the word pussie is now used of a woman".
It has been informally suggested in folk etymology that it is a shortened form of the word "pusillanimous", which comes from Latin words meaning "tiny spirit" and is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "showing a lack of courage or determination" or cowardly. Though this meaning would seem to be consistent with the intention of the word "pussy" when used as an insult toward a man, it is a false cognate
unrelated to the Germanic derivations of puss and pussy.
and English, but pussy was used in English more as a synonym for "cat": compare "pussycat". In addition to cats, the word was also used for rabbit
s and hare
s as well as a humorous name for tiger
s. In the 19th century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the meaning was extended "in childish speech, applied to anything soft and furry", as in Pussy Willow
. In thieves' slang
, it meant "fur coat".
To pussyfoot around the question or point means to be evasive, cautious, or conceal one's opinions. The reference is to the careful soft tread of the cat and has no vulgar implications, other than obvious ties to weakness, which "pussy" sometimes connotes.
itself. Most dictionaries mark the anatomical meaning as "vulgar" or "offensive" and its use is frowned upon in polite company.
The German form is cognate (Muschi (used for the female cat as well)), and the (vulgar) French
term "chatte" (literally a female cat
) is analogous.
The meaning "weak or cowardly person" has a separate etymology. Websters 1913 Revised Unabridged Dictionary
lists this version of pussy as an alternate spelling of "pursy", an otherwise obsolete English word meaning "fat and short-breathed; fat, short, and thick; swelled with pampering ..." The interpretation is often misconstrued, as it contains multiple meanings which some consider derogatory. In fact, when pussy appears in the earlier 1828 edition of the dictionary, this definition is presented for the word, while the older pursy is simply offered as a "corrupt orthography".
Pursy was in turn derived from an Old French
word variously spelled pourcif, poulsif, poussif, meaning "to push, thrust, or heave". In this sense, it is cognate with the modern French verb pousser, also meaning "to push".
The word pussy can also be used in a derogatory sense to refer to a male who is not considered sufficiently masculine (see Gender role
). When used in this sense, it carries the implication of being easily fatigued, weak or cowardly.
Men dominated by women (particularly their partners or spouses and at one time referred to as 'Hen-pecked') can be referred to as pussy-whipped (or simply whipped in slightly more polite society or media).
The double entendre
has been used for over a hundred years by performers, including the late-19th-century vaudeville
act the Barrison Sisters
, who performed the notorious routine "Do You Want To See My Pussy?" (see entry for more); the Popular Great Depression Era song My Girl's Pussy
, the Funkadelic
song "Pussy", and the character Pussy Galore in the James Bond
series, as well as the 1983 film, Octopussy
, which refers to a female gang leader. On his album, The Gold Experience
, Prince
sings a song about a female protagonist named Pussy Control
. The Belgian
band Lords of Acid
also has a song called Pussy, almost every line of which is a double entendre.
One surprisingly risqué joke, especially for 1940, appears in the W. C. Fields
movie, The Bank Dick
. The bar that Fields frequently attends (tended by Shemp Howard) is called the "Black Pussy Cat", with "Black Pussy" arched over "Cat" to give it some visual separation. However, it was apparently tame enough that the Hays Office did not take action.
Another notable usage is in the British comedy Are You Being Served?
. The character Mrs. Slocombe is often heard to be concerned with the welfare of her pussy (cat), presumably unaware of the secondary meaning. This joke was also used with some other cast members of the show (particularly Messrs. Rumbold and Grainger), showing their unawareness, with lines such as "I hope this (meeting) won't take very long, it's very unfair on Mrs. Slocombe's pussy".
In the episode "Calling All Customers", Mrs. Slocombe calls a lonely trucker on Mr. Humphries’ CB radio, setting up perhaps the most intricate "pussy" joke of the series. The trucker tells her he’s hauling dynamite, and proceeds to ask her about her interests. She notes gardening, but that her pussy is her favorite hobby. She exclaims that she has a mantel full of trophies and that it wins a medal every time she shows it. Then follows the sound of screeching tires and an explosion. Mr. Humphries laments, "He’s pulled off for a coffee".
The double meaning of the word was exploited in a 2005 episode of the American comedy program Arrested Development, where the word was censored
if used as an insult, but not censored if used to mean sweet or gentle (as in pussycat). This also can apply to using pussy as a word for weak. On the television series Drawn Together
, the episode "Alzheimer's That Ends Well" features yet another instance of the above. In this episode, Princess Clara receives an "extreme vaginal makeover", but continually exclaims that something is wrong. In one scene, she claims it has freckles, to which Wooldoor replies, "Lots of pussies have freckles, like Ron Howard
". In the South Park
episode "Fun with Veal
", after giving up meat temporarily, Stan Marsh
discovers his body is covered in sores. The doctor informs Stan that the sores are actually tiny vaginas, and that not eating meat is turning Stan into "a giant pussy". In neither of these latter two instances is the word censored.
Steve Martin
had a stand-up bit (found on his A Wild and Crazy Guy
recording) in which he declared that a woman he'd met had "the best pussy . . ." He then realized what the audience was thinking and immediately expressed outrage and disgust by explaining, "I'm talking about her cat!" and that "You can't say anything any more without people taking it dirty". He then muttered that "that cat was the best fuck
I ever had".
An English company has created an energy drink
called Pussy. As they state on their web site, "The name Pussy shocks and demands attention - that's the point".
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word meaning:
- CatCatThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
- The human female genitaliaVulvaThe vulva consists of the external genital organs of the female mammal. This article deals with the vulva of the human being, although the structures are similar for other mammals....
, for the slang term related to genital anatomy. - Pejoratively, cowardiceCowardiceCowardice is the perceived failure to demonstrate sufficient mental robustness and courage in the face of a challenge. Under many military codes of justice, cowardice in the face of combat is a crime punishable by death...
or weaknessWeaknessWeakness is a symptom represented, medically, by a number of different conditions, including: lack of muscle strength, malaise, dizziness, or fatigue. The causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have true or perceived muscle weakness. True muscle weakness is a primary symptom of a...
as an insult in general
Etymology
The origins of the word are unknown. The Oxford English DictionaryOxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(OED) says that the word puss is common to several Germanic languages
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
, usually as a call name for the cat — not a synonym for cat, as it is in English.
The Oxford English Dictionary and Webster's Third International Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary refers to the line of dictionaries first developed by Noah Webster in the early 19th century, and also to numerous unrelated dictionaries that added Webster's name just to share his prestige. The term is a genericized trademark in the U.S.A...
point out similarities with words including:
- Old NorseOld NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
, pūss (pocket) - Old SaxonOld SaxonOld Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in the Netherlands by Saxon peoples...
pūse (vulva) - Old English pusa (bag)
The medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word pucelle referred to a young adolescent girl or a virgin, although this comes from a slang term for virginity puce (= flea
Flea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
) rather than referring to cats (but cf. French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
chatte (female cat), a current vulgarism for the female genitalia). In the 17th century, the term was also used to refer to women in general. Philip Stubbs
Philip Stubbs
Philip Stubbs , English pamphleteer, was born about 1555.He was from Cheshire, possibly the area near Congleton. According to Anthony Wood he was educated at Cambridge and subsequently at Oxford, but did not take a degree and his name is not in university records. He is reputed to have been a...
, an English pamphleteer
Pamphleteer
A pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets. Pamphlets were used to broadcast the writer's opinions on an issue, for example, in order to get people to vote for their favorite politician or to articulate a particular political ideology.A famous pamphleteer...
, wrote in his 1583 book "The Anatomie of Abuses" that "the word pussie is now used of a woman".
It has been informally suggested in folk etymology that it is a shortened form of the word "pusillanimous", which comes from Latin words meaning "tiny spirit" and is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "showing a lack of courage or determination" or cowardly. Though this meaning would seem to be consistent with the intention of the word "pussy" when used as an insult toward a man, it is a false cognate
False cognate
False cognates are pairs of words in the same or different languages that are similar in form and meaning but have different roots. That is, they appear to be, or are sometimes considered, cognates, when in fact they are not....
unrelated to the Germanic derivations of puss and pussy.
Cat and similar
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, puss was used as a "call-name" for cats in both GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and English, but pussy was used in English more as a synonym for "cat": compare "pussycat". In addition to cats, the word was also used for rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s and hare
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
s as well as a humorous name for tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s. In the 19th century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the meaning was extended "in childish speech, applied to anything soft and furry", as in Pussy Willow
Pussy Willow
Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus Salix when their furry catkins are young in early spring...
. In thieves' slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
, it meant "fur coat".
To pussyfoot around the question or point means to be evasive, cautious, or conceal one's opinions. The reference is to the careful soft tread of the cat and has no vulgar implications, other than obvious ties to weakness, which "pussy" sometimes connotes.
Genitalia
The word "pussy" often refers to the female genitalia. Used in conjunction with "some", the phrase some pussy refers to sexual intercourseSexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
itself. Most dictionaries mark the anatomical meaning as "vulgar" or "offensive" and its use is frowned upon in polite company.
The German form is cognate (Muschi (used for the female cat as well)), and the (vulgar) French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
term "chatte" (literally a female cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
) is analogous.
Weakness
The meaning "weak or cowardly person" has a separate etymology. Websters 1913 Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary refers to the line of dictionaries first developed by Noah Webster in the early 19th century, and also to numerous unrelated dictionaries that added Webster's name just to share his prestige. The term is a genericized trademark in the U.S.A...
lists this version of pussy as an alternate spelling of "pursy", an otherwise obsolete English word meaning "fat and short-breathed; fat, short, and thick; swelled with pampering ..." The interpretation is often misconstrued, as it contains multiple meanings which some consider derogatory. In fact, when pussy appears in the earlier 1828 edition of the dictionary, this definition is presented for the word, while the older pursy is simply offered as a "corrupt orthography".
Pursy was in turn derived from an Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
word variously spelled pourcif, poulsif, poussif, meaning "to push, thrust, or heave". In this sense, it is cognate with the modern French verb pousser, also meaning "to push".
The word pussy can also be used in a derogatory sense to refer to a male who is not considered sufficiently masculine (see Gender role
Gender role
Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioral norms that are considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time...
). When used in this sense, it carries the implication of being easily fatigued, weak or cowardly.
Men dominated by women (particularly their partners or spouses and at one time referred to as 'Hen-pecked') can be referred to as pussy-whipped (or simply whipped in slightly more polite society or media).
Purulent
A common verbal mistake, that becomes evident when written, is made when describing a wound or discharge that could be classified as purulent, full of or pertaining to pus. Those who choose this word instead of purulent insist it is spelled "pussy" but pronounced "PUH-see."Word-play between meanings
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
has been used for over a hundred years by performers, including the late-19th-century vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
act the Barrison Sisters
Barrison Sisters
The Barrison Sisters were a risqué Vaudeville act who performed in the United States and Europe from about 1891 to 1900, advertised as The Wickedest Girls In the World....
, who performed the notorious routine "Do You Want To See My Pussy?" (see entry for more); the Popular Great Depression Era song My Girl's Pussy
My Girl's Pussy
"My Girl's Pussy" is a song by the British bandleader and clarinetist Harry Roy. The song was recorded in 1931 by Harry Roy and His Bat Club Boys.-Lyrics:"My Girl's Pussy" is a song by the British bandleader and clarinetist Harry Roy...
, the Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
song "Pussy", and the character Pussy Galore in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
series, as well as the 1983 film, Octopussy
Octopussy
Octopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
, which refers to a female gang leader. On his album, The Gold Experience
The Gold Experience
The Gold Experience is the seventeenth studio album by Prince . It was released on September 26, 1995...
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
sings a song about a female protagonist named Pussy Control
The Gold Experience
The Gold Experience is the seventeenth studio album by Prince . It was released on September 26, 1995...
. The Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
band Lords of Acid
Lords of Acid
Lords of Acid is a Belgian-American post-industrial/techno band, led by musician Praga Khan. They debuted with the controversial new beat single "I Sit on Acid" in 1988...
also has a song called Pussy, almost every line of which is a double entendre.
One surprisingly risqué joke, especially for 1940, appears in the W. C. Fields
W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
movie, The Bank Dick
The Bank Dick
The Bank Dick is a 1940 comedy film. W. C. Fields plays a character named Egbert Sousé who trips a bank robber and ends up a security guard as a result...
. The bar that Fields frequently attends (tended by Shemp Howard) is called the "Black Pussy Cat", with "Black Pussy" arched over "Cat" to give it some visual separation. However, it was apparently tame enough that the Hays Office did not take action.
Another notable usage is in the British comedy Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
. The character Mrs. Slocombe is often heard to be concerned with the welfare of her pussy (cat), presumably unaware of the secondary meaning. This joke was also used with some other cast members of the show (particularly Messrs. Rumbold and Grainger), showing their unawareness, with lines such as "I hope this (meeting) won't take very long, it's very unfair on Mrs. Slocombe's pussy".
In the episode "Calling All Customers", Mrs. Slocombe calls a lonely trucker on Mr. Humphries’ CB radio, setting up perhaps the most intricate "pussy" joke of the series. The trucker tells her he’s hauling dynamite, and proceeds to ask her about her interests. She notes gardening, but that her pussy is her favorite hobby. She exclaims that she has a mantel full of trophies and that it wins a medal every time she shows it. Then follows the sound of screeching tires and an explosion. Mr. Humphries laments, "He’s pulled off for a coffee".
The double meaning of the word was exploited in a 2005 episode of the American comedy program Arrested Development, where the word was censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
if used as an insult, but not censored if used to mean sweet or gentle (as in pussycat). This also can apply to using pussy as a word for weak. On the television series Drawn Together
Drawn Together
Drawn Together is an American animated television series, which ran on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004 to November 14, 2007. The series was created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, and uses a sitcom format with a TV reality show setting...
, the episode "Alzheimer's That Ends Well" features yet another instance of the above. In this episode, Princess Clara receives an "extreme vaginal makeover", but continually exclaims that something is wrong. In one scene, she claims it has freckles, to which Wooldoor replies, "Lots of pussies have freckles, like Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
". In the South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode "Fun with Veal
Fun with Veal
"Fun with Veal" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 83rd episode of the series overall. It was originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central on March 27, 2002.-Plot:...
", after giving up meat temporarily, Stan Marsh
Stan Marsh
Stanley Randall "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
discovers his body is covered in sores. The doctor informs Stan that the sores are actually tiny vaginas, and that not eating meat is turning Stan into "a giant pussy". In neither of these latter two instances is the word censored.
Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
had a stand-up bit (found on his A Wild and Crazy Guy
A Wild and Crazy Guy
A Wild and Crazy Guy was an album by American comedian Steve Martin. It reached number two on a Billboard's Pop Albums Chart. The album was eventually certified double platinum....
recording) in which he declared that a woman he'd met had "the best pussy . . ." He then realized what the audience was thinking and immediately expressed outrage and disgust by explaining, "I'm talking about her cat!" and that "You can't say anything any more without people taking it dirty". He then muttered that "that cat was the best fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
I ever had".
An English company has created an energy drink
Energy drink
Energy drinks are beverages whose producers advertise that they "boost energy." These advertisements usually do not emphasize energy derived from the sugar and caffeine they contain but rather increased energy release due to a variety of stimulants and vitamins....
called Pussy. As they state on their web site, "The name Pussy shocks and demands attention - that's the point".
External links
- Don't be so beastly! by Justine Hankins. The Guardian, June 14, 2003.
- Pussy This, Pussy That by Aura Bogado, 2002.
- Complete lyrics to the George Clinton song from the Motherpage