This article is about the word. For other uses, see Pussy (disambiguation).

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a long-haired kitten
The word pussy refers to cats, weakness or cowardice, or female genitalia, in ad
dition to other meanings.
The word pussy is a noun, an adjective, and in rare uses a verb in the English l
anguage. It has several meanings, including use as slang, as euphemism, and as v
ulgarity. Because of its multiple senses including both innocent and vulgar conn
otations, it is often the subject of double entendre.
The etymology of the word is not entirely clear. Several different senses of the
word have different histories or origins.[1][2][3]
Common meanings of the noun include "cat", "coward or weakling", and "the human
vulva or vagina" or by extension "sexual intercourse with a woman".[1] Adjective
meanings are related to the noun, and also include a rare or obsolete variant o
f the Northern English dialect form pursy meaning "fat" or "short-winded",[2] as
well as "containing pus".[3] With the last meaning, the word is pronounced /'p?
s?/, while the other forms are all pronounced /'p?s?/. Meanings of the verb rela
te to the common noun senses, including "to act like a cat", "to act like a cowa
rd", or "to have sex with a woman".[4]
The verb pussyfoot, meaning to walk softly or to speak in an evasive or cautious
manner, may come from the adjective pussy-footed "having a cat-like foot", or d
irectly from the noun pussyfoot. This word, first attested in the late nineteent
h century, is related to both the "cat" and the "woman" meanings of pussy.[10]
Female genitalia
An example of double entendre in street art: a graffiti mural of a woman caressi
ng a pussycat between her legs.
In contemporary English, use of the word pussy to refer to women is considered d
erogatory or demeaning, treating people as sexual objects.[11] As a reference to
genitals or to sexual intercourse, the word is considered vulgar slang. Studies
find the word used more commonly in conversations among men than in groups of w
omen or mixed-gender groups, though subjects report using pussy more often than
other slang terms for female genitals.[12]
Words referring to cats are used as vulgar slang for female genitals in some oth
er European languages as well. Examples include German Muschi (literally "house
cat"),[13] French chatte ("female cat", also used to refer to sexual intercourse
),[14] and Dutch poes ("puss").[5] The Portuguese term rata (literally "female r
at")[15] and Norwegian mus ("mouse")[16] are also animal terms used as vulgar sl
ang for women's genitals.
Weakness
The word pussy is also used in a derogatory sense to mean cowardly, weak, or eas
ily fatigued. The Collins Dictionary says: "(taboo, slang, mainly US) an ineffec
tual or timid person."[17] It may refer to a male who is not considered sufficie
ntly masculine, as in "The coach calls us pussies."[18] (see Gender role).
Men dominated by women (particularly their partners or spouses and at one time r
eferred to as 'Hen-pecked') can be referred to as pussy-whipped (or simply whipp
ed in slightly more polite society or media).[citation needed] This may be used
simply to denigrate a man who is contented in a relationship. The hyphenated phr
ase is parsed as "whipped by pussy"
a manipulative relationship dynamic wherein
a female deliberately or subconsciously (see passive-aggressive) withholds sexua
l intercourse to coerce the male into surrendering power in other aspects of the
relationship. The male's weakness is his desire for access to female genitalia,
and his willingness to weaken his position in the relationship to obtain that a

ccess, combining two uses of the word pussy.[citation needed]

Word-play between meanings
The Barrison Sisters lift their dresses to show a live kitten, a double entendre
of "pussy".
Pussy is one of a large number of English words that has both erotic and non-ero
tic meanings. Such double entendre has long been used in the creation of sexual
humor.[19] The double entendre has been used for over a hundred years by perform
ers, including the late-19th-century vaudeville act the Barrison Sisters, who pe
rformed the notorious routine "Do You Want To See My Pussy?" in which they raise
d their skirts to reveal live kittens.[20]
In the British comedy Are You Being Served? the character Mrs. Slocombe often ex
pressed concern for the welfare of her pussy. The double entendre made every ref
erence to her cat seem to be a salacious and therefore humorous reference to her
vagina.[21]
In the 2002 film 8 Mile a rapper insults his rivals by including the line, "How
can six dicks be pussies?" The line relies on double meanings of both dick (eith
er "contemptible person" or "male genitalia") and pussy ("weak" or "female genit
alia"). Such word play presents a challenge for translators of the film.[22]
Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist punk-rock collective that stages illegal events
in Moscow protesting the Putin regime and the status of women in Russian societ
y. Band member "Kot" says that she knows how the word is used in English, and th
at it is also used in Russian as term of endearment for little girls. These vari
ous meanings create a tension