Pusses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A colloquial term for cats, often used affectionately to refer to their playful or endearing nature
2. a slang expression describing the act of exhibiting exaggerated emotions or behaviors in a cute manner
3. a plural form representing multiple instances of cats or similar small felines

Etymology: "Pusses" is simply the plural of "puss," the informal word for a cat. The noun's origin is murky. It probably comes from Middle Low German "pûse" or "pûskatte," or from Dutch "poes," a word that also served as slang for the vulva. Scholars suspect the root is imitative, built on a sound people made to summon a cat, and the same sound-based word turns up in languages as far apart as Persian, Tamil, Tagalog and Romanian. A more surprising strand connects the word to kissing. Some etymologists link it to Irish "pus," meaning "mouth" or "lip," which descends from Middle Irish "bus." That Celtic form sits alongside Middle Low German "pussen" and Middle High German "bussen," both meaning "to kiss," suggesting that the cat's name and the lip-pursing sound may share a common origin.

Synonyms: cats, kittens, felines, pets, companions