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puss

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puss¹

  • /pʊs/
  • /pʉs/ Northern Ireland, Scotland

Sounds like pus (without the foot–strut split) · Rhymes with -ʊs

Where it comes from

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

noun pusses

  1. countable, informal, often, term of address, uncountable A cat. Our local theatre is showing Puss in Boots.

    Similar: moggie, moggy

  2. countable, dated, endearing, uncountable A girl or young woman, or any child.
  3. countable, dated, uncountable A hare. He then began to beat about, in the ſame Language, and in the ſame Manner, as if he had been beating for a Hare, and at laſt cried out, 'Soho! Puſs is not far off. Here's her Form, upon my Soul; I believe I may cry ſtole away.'
  4. countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar The vulva (female genitalia).
  5. metonymically, slang, uncountable, vulgar Sex with a woman. So don't know! So, what are you gonna do? Sell your birthright for a little bit of puss?
  6. Canada, US, countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar A coward; a wuss; someone who is unable to stand up for themselves.

puss²

  • /pʊs/
  • /pʉs/ Northern Ireland, Scotland

Sounds like pus (without the foot–strut split) · Rhymes with -ʊs

Where it comes from

Of Celtic origin, from or akin to Irish pus (“mouth, lip”), from Middle Irish bus. Compare also Middle Low German pussen (“to kiss”), Middle High German bussen (“to kiss”).

noun pusses

  1. slang The mouth. Shut your puss before I shut it for you.

    Similar: cakehole, gob, mush, trap

  2. slang The face. She gave him a slap in the puss.

puss³

  • /pʊs/
  • /pʉs/ Northern Ireland, Scotland

Sounds like pus (without the foot–strut split) · Rhymes with -ʊs

noun

  1. alternative, uncountable Alternative spelling of pus It didn't move as much, and the same teary puss leaked from its eyes.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: pussy, kitty, pussycat, kitty-cat, cunt, slit, nooky, kitten, cat, purr, beaver, mouth, chicken, face, hood, rug

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Cite this
MLA

"puss." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/puss. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

puss. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/puss

Chicago

"puss." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/puss.

BibTeX
@misc{puss_2026,
  title = {puss},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/puss},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}