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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230 |
Where di "pussy" for "cat" come from. My Merriam-Webster lists it as appearing around 1726, but gives no etymology, and neither does the AHD online. An Indo-Fijian friend staying with me at present tried to tell me that "pussy" is a Hindi word for cat, but "billi" is the only word that I find in the Hindi dictionaries and wordlists I have available, and none of them list "pussy", or any likely progenitor thereof, as a word at all. I figure he's just yanking my chain, but it got me wondering where the word comes from. The etymology of the less-refined, anatomical, meaning of "pussy" is very detailed, but not that for the simple cat's tale.
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475 |
The OED 1st ed. suggests that pussy is a diminutive formation of puss. For the latter, though it notes that cognate call-name forms eixst in Germanic and even Baltic languages, no etymology is known. English has extended puss and pussy(cat) from a call-name to a noun for the animal.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439 |
Looked in all my old and esoteric references - no joy! All I have to contribute to this erudite discussion is that, in Hawaiian, cat is "popoki." Legend says the first cat that came to the islands with the missionaries, staggered about as it tried to get its "land legs" and the owner said "Poor pussy" - thus Popoki.
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230 |
>no etymology is known.
Thanks, jheem. I guess this one goes in my collection, along with fiasco.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
I think it comes from the 1965 Woody Allen movie "What's new, Pussycat?" Allen wrote the script and appears with Peter O'Toole and Peter Sellers. The theme song, of the same name, was composed by Burt Bacharach with lyrics by Hal David and sung by Tom Jones. All previous uses of this term were merely prescient.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
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"You're delicious And if my wishes Can all come true I'll soon be kissing your sweet little pussycat lips!"
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154 |
If you want to get a cat's attention try calling very softly "Psss psss psss". It sounds like a mouse and gets a much quicker response than using their name. Maybe that's where puss(y) came from.
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