puss

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an informal or affectionate term for a cat

   The old puss stretched beside the fire and began to purr.

2. 2
   noun

   a person's face or mouth; informal, especially in North American English

   The snowball struck him squarely in the puss.

3. 3
   noun

   an affectionate or mildly patronizing term for a girl or young woman; dated

   Come along, puss, her aunt said as she held out a hand.

The cat term is probably related to Middle Low German pūse and Dutch poes and may imitate a traditional call to a cat; similar forms occur in many languages. Its use for a girl developed from the cat term. The separate North American slang sense "face or mouth" comes from Irish pus, "lip, mouth."

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