Poohs

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Informal term referring to excrement; an expression of disdain or dismissal; plural form indicating multiple instances of the former
2. Colloquial name for fecal matter; a sound or phrase used to show contempt or disagreement; used in plural to indicate several such items or utterances
3. A childish or informal word for waste material from the bowels; an interjection to express disapproval or rejection; denotes more than one such matter or expression in plural form

Etymology: "Poohs" is the third-person singular form of "pooh," so it is the verb form of the interjection and noun, and the plural of the noun. The interjection itself began as a sound: an onomatopoeic imitation of a puff of air, related to older exclamations like "poh" and later "phew," "pho," and "poof." That origin is why a word for disgust sounds like a breath being blown out. The meaning of waste material came from a neighbouring sound. "Poop," which imitates flatulence and defecation, influenced "pooh" over time, pulling the interjection toward the bodily sense it carries today. Interjections of disgust such as "pee-ew" pushed in the same direction, so the dismissive sense and the bodily sense grew up side by side. One further possibility is that the unpleasant-smell sense may be linked to French "puer," meaning "to stink," though this connection is uncertain.

Synonyms: exclaims, expresses disapproval, dismisses, rejects, scorns

Antonyms: approves, praises, accepts, endorses, welcomes