Editing Pussy (section)

==Etymology==
The noun ''pussy'' meaning "cat" comes from the [[Modern English]] word ''puss'', a conventional name or term of address for a cat.<ref name="OED puss">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title =puss, ''n''.<sup>1</sup> |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |edition=third |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford}}</ref> [[Cognate]]s are common to several [[Germanic language]]s, including [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''poes'' and [[Middle Low German]] ''pūse'', which are also used to call a cat. The word ''puss'' is attested in English as early as 1533. Earlier etymology is uncertain, but similar words exist in other European languages, including [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] ''puižė'' and [[Irish language|Irish]] ''puisín'', both traditional calls to attract a cat.<ref name="OED puss"/>

The words ''puss'' and derived forms ''pussy'' and ''pusscat'' were extended to refer to girls or women by the seventeenth century.<ref name="OED 1" /><ref name="OED puss"/> This sense of ''pussy'' was used to refer specifically to genitalia by the eighteenth century, and from there further extended to refer to sexual intercourse involving a woman by the twentieth century.<ref name="OED 1" /> ''[[Webster's Third New International Dictionary|Webster's Third International Dictionary]]'' suggests that ''pussy'' in the sense of "vulva" may be connected to [[Old Norse]] ''pūss'' and [[Old English]] ''pusa'', meaning 'pocket' or 'purse'.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gove |first=Phillip |title=Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged |publisher=G. & C. Merriam |year=1961 |isbn=978-0-8777-9302-1 |location=Springfield, MA}}</ref>

Meanings of the verb relate to the common noun senses, including "to act like a cat", "to act like a coward", or "to have sex with a woman".<ref name="OED verb">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=pussy, ''v''. |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |edition=third}}</ref> Adjective meanings are likewise related to the noun.<!-- Add modern slang senses: man (especially prisoner) used unwillingly for another man's sexual gratification; submissive subordinate or underling. --> 

=== Similar words ===
The [[Middle French|medieval French]] word ''pucelle'' {{Gloss|maiden, virgin}} is not related to the English word. It is attested in Old French from the ninth century, and likely derives from [[Latin]] ''puella'' {{Gloss|girl}} or ''pulla'' {{Gloss|pullet, young female chicken}}.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=pucelle, ''n''. |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |edition=third}}</ref>

The [[homograph]] ''pussy,'' pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ʌ|s|i}}, means "containing [[pus]]".<ref name="OED 3" /> 

''Pussy'' is also a variant spelling of ''pursy'' or ''pursive'', obsolete words for 'fat, pot-bellied, short of breath, broken-winded, asthmatic (of a horse)'.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/pussy_adj1 |title=Oxford English Dictionary |year=2007 |at=s.v. 'pussy' adjective<sup>1</sup>}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Webster |first1=Noah |title=Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language |last2=Porter |first2=Noah |publisher=G. & C. Merriam |year=1913 |location=Springfield, MA |pages=1166–1167 |oclc=504785161}}</ref>