Etymograph

English

puss

Puss may come from Middle Low German pūse.

  1. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600pūseuncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1749puss

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600pūseuncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1749puss

Earliest quotation: 1749, Henry Fielding, London: A[ndrew] Millar: “He then began to beat about, in the ſame…”

The story

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)). Found also in several other European, North African and Asian languages; compare Romanian pisică, Persian پیشی (piši), Tamil பூசை (pūcai), Tagalog pusa

Every English word from Middle Low German pūse

Today it means

noun A cat.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Middle Low German pūse / puss

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