…am I comparing them to a cat or a vagina?
You mean, when did the word take on the meaning of ‘vagina’ and when did it take on the meaning of the word ‘cat or kitten’?
According to http://www.etymonline.com the former meaning came into usage around 1879 for the female anatomy and around 1583 for the female herself.
And the latter meaning goes back to 1726 and is derived from the 1580’s usage for a female or effeminate man.
How interesting. I’d always assumed that the sense intended was the vag, but from the sound of that, it’s the latter meaning (etymologically speaking).
Actually, you mean someone (usually a male) is weak and spineless. While it probably derives from “vagina,” the word has taken on a meaning independent of the origin (much like “orientation” rarely has anything to do with “east.”).
Agreed. To me it just means “super wimp”.
I think there is no question of that meaning. Malleus, Incus, Stapes! is asking what they are being compared to when being called a pussy in that sense, just as when calling someone an “ass” you might be comparing them to a donkey or a posterior.
Gagundathar’s analysis says that “pussy” meant either “woman” or “effeminate male” long before it took on meanings that were anatomical (300 years later) or feline (200 years later). So it sounds like calling someone a pussy is the correct usage of the term, without any interpretation/comparison necessary.
But still sexist, since it’s still insulting a man for being like a woman! …humans seem to be good at that.
Which seems kinda silly because a vagina can take some serious pounding 
Indeed ROFL
I always think of it as someone who is unwilling to take risks, though. not really as someone who can’t handle adversity or pain. Given the fact that men tend to be more willing to take risks, I’d say it makes sense.
Click here for pussy.
No, also according to the Online Etymological Dictionary, “puss” for cat goes back to the 1520s, earlier than “pussy” is used, in the 1580s, for woman (and possibly also for effeminate man at that time, but it looks as though the lexicographer is speculating here) and much earlier than it is recorded as being used for vagina (1879).
I think the usage the OP is asking about is most likely comparing a cowardly man to a cat. Cats tend to run away if confronted aggressively by humans. Even though “pussy” has long been used to mean a woman (though not so much these days, probably because the vagina meaning has become well known), I don’t think “pussy” said of a coward is so much saying that he is feminine as that he is cowardly and skittish like a cat. When used of a woman, by contrast, “pussy” is usually a positive term of endearment (as the Etymology Dictionary notes): it is saying that she is warm and affectionate like a cat, or that the speaker wants to stroke and pet her as they would a cat. They are not saying that when they use the word of a man, however.
Used in the OPs context, I always assumed that it was short for being ‘Pussy Whipped’, ie. under the thumb of the significant other.
I’ve always wondered if there’s any connection to pusillanimous, which is derived from the Latin pusus, which actually means “boy.”
Yeah, I always assumed the word pussy was derived from pusillanimous and then took on the second meaning of vagina.
I think that’s an excellent parallel.
You can call someone a pussycat, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing (nor does it necessarily have any sexual connotations). You’re saying they’re “not at all threatening” or “weak, compliant, or amiable” or “an endearing or gentle person”. “He’s just a big pussycat” means you don’t have to be scared of him. “Pussy” can be short for “pussycat” in this sense—though of course it can also have a very different meaning.
Whenever I’ve been called a pussy, I’ve been fortunate to have the presence of mind to retort, “You are what you eat, dick.”
Nope. PW is short for pussy whipped, which is completely different than calling someone a pussy. The more socially acceptable term for *pussy *would be *wuss *(rhymes with puss) or sometimes wussy, and the term for *pussy whipped *would be henpecked.
Except that the first vowel in pusillanimous is pronounced quite differently from that in pussy.
Also, although I haven’t looked it up, I would lay odds that pusillanimous is not nearly such an old word as pussy (which as noted, goes back to the 16th century).
And, again, what is cowardly about a vagina? (on the other hand, they are furry, and people like to pet them.)
More specifically, it’s a man lacking traditionally masculine qualities. It’s not sexist, since there are equivalent terms for women lacking traditionally womanly virtues.