Where does the term “pussy” originate?
The term "pussy" derives from the Germanic word for a cat (puss, attested in English in 1533), which may have been imitative of a call to attract a cat or shared with Low German (puse) and Old Norse (puss, meaning "pocket" or "pouch").
Chronological Evolution
• 16th Century (Cat & Endearment): The word first entered English meaning a cat, and by the late 1500s, it evolved into an innocent, non-sexual term of endearment for a girl or woman.
• 17th Century (Genital Slang): By the late 17th century (around the 1690s), the association with softness, warmth, or furriness—paralleling terms like French chatte or "beaver"—led to its first recorded usage for female genitalia.
• 19th to 20th Centuries (Wider Slang): It became widely established as vulgar slang for the vulva/vagina in the 19th century. Later, by the mid-20th century in America, the term expanded to mean an effeminate person or coward, derived from the earlier slang association.
Chronological Evolution
• 16th Century (Cat & Endearment): The word first entered English meaning a cat, and by the late 1500s, it evolved into an innocent, non-sexual term of endearment for a girl or woman.
• 17th Century (Genital Slang): By the late 17th century (around the 1690s), the association with softness, warmth, or furriness—paralleling terms like French chatte or "beaver"—led to its first recorded usage for female genitalia.
• 19th to 20th Centuries (Wider Slang): It became widely established as vulgar slang for the vulva/vagina in the 19th century. Later, by the mid-20th century in America, the term expanded to mean an effeminate person or coward, derived from the earlier slang association.
31-35, F
