puss1
[poo s]
- a cat.
- Informal. a girl or woman: often used as a form of affectionate address.
- British. a hare.
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Origin of puss1
1520–30; akin to Dutch poes, Low German puus-katte, dialectal Swedish kattepus, Norwegian puse(kat)
puss2
[poo s]
- face: She smacked him in the puss.
- mouth: Shut your puss before I shut it for you.
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Origin of puss2
First recorded in 1880–85, puss is from the Irish word pus lip, mouth
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for puss
Contemporary Examples
In other words, in his second term, President Obama needs to kick Richard Nixon right square in the puss.
There also was no hesitation to get down and dirty again with Puss in Boots.
On others, he will be the voice of the delightful animated cat in Puss in Boots, whom everyone loves from the Shrek movies.
The Spanish star plays a sociopath in his cinematic reunion with Pedro Almodóvar—and a Casanova feline in Puss in Boots.
Historical Examples
Why couldn't he ask me how I felt or pull my ear and say "Hello, Puss?"
The HarborErnest Poole
Here is a recipe for very nice Graham bread for Puss Hunter.
I wish Puss Hunter, if she tries it, would tell me if she has success.
Puss no sooner perceived this, but he fell upon him, and ate him up.
The Fairy Tales of Charles PerraultCharles Perrault
Puss had no sooner been liberated than she bounded out at the open door.
Adventures and RecollectionsBill o'th' Hoylus End
puss1
- an informal name for a cat 1 (def. 1) See also pussy 1 (def. 1)
- slang a girl or woman
- an informal name for a hare
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Word Origin
C16: related to Middle Low German pūs, Dutch poes, Lithuanian puz
puss2
- the face
- Irish a gloomy or sullen expression
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Word Origin
C17: from Irish pus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for puss
n.1
"cat," 1520s, but probably much older than the record, perhaps imitative of the hissing sound commonly used to get a cat's attention. A conventional name for a cat in Germanic languages and as far off as Afghanistan; it is the root of the principal word for "cat" in Rumanian (pisica) and secondary words in Lithuanian (puz), Low German (puus), Swedish dialect katte-pus, etc. Applied to a girl or woman from c.1600, originally in a negative sense, implying unpleasant cat-like qualities; but by mid-19c. in affectionate use.
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n.2
"the face" (but sometimes, especially in pugilism slang, "the mouth"), 1890, slang, from Irish pus "lip, mouth."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper