puss

See also: pus

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: po͝os, IPA^(key): /pʊs/
• Rhymes: -ʊs

Etymology 1

From a Common Germanic word for cat. Akin to Dutch poes (“puss, cat, vagina”), West Frisian poes, Low German Puus, Puuskatte, Danish pus, dialectal Swedish kattepus, Norwegian pus.

Found also in several other European and Western Asian languages. Compare Romanian pisica.

Noun

puss (plural pusses)

1. (informal) A cat.

   Our local theatre is showing Puss in Boots.

2. A girl or young woman.
3. (dated, hunting) A hare.
4. (vulgar, slang) Vulva (female genitalia).

Synonyms

• (cat): moggie/moggy

Related terms

• pussy

Etymology 2

Of Celtic origin, from or akin to Irish pus (“mouth, lip”), from Middle Irish bus.

Noun

puss (plural pusses)

1. (slang) The mouth.

   She gave him a slap in the puss.

Synonyms

• (mouth): cakehole, gob, mush, trap

Anagrams

• PSUs, sups, USPs, USPS

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Norwegian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʉs/

Etymology 1

From pusse (“to clean, polish, plaster, render”).

Noun

puss m

1. polish, finery
2. plaster, plastering
3. finery

Etymology 2

From Latin pus.

Noun

puss m, n

1. pus, matter

Etymology 3

Apparently from Dutch Low Saxon or German Low German.

New High German Possen (“coarse prank”), although superficially similar, derives via Middle High German from Old French, and is therefore probably unrelated.

Noun

puss n

1. trick, prank

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɵs/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

puss c

1. peck; a light or dispassionate kiss performed with closed lips, used for example as a greeting or in non-sensual/non-sexual contexts
2. a puddle, a plash

Declension

Declension of puss

	singular		plural
Common	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	puss	pussen	pussar	pussarna
genitive	puss	pussens	pussars	pussarnas

Related terms

• pussa

See also

• kyss