I’m briefly returning from my long exile (found I was spending more time here than working at work - people beginning to motice, so I cut myself off cold turkey…) to ask this question that’s been bugging me for ages now:
Why are cats Pussy-cats?
and
Why are rabbits Bunny-Rabbits?
That is, what’s the derivation of ‘Bunny’ and ‘Pussy’ - they don’t seem to be related to latin, greek or french, and it’s not even as if they start with the same letter as their respective animals.
Any help would be appreciated…
These are from the Online Etymology Dictionary: http://www.etymonline.com
puss (1) - “cat,” 1530, 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 Gmc. languages and as far off as Afghanistan; it is the root of the principal word for “cat” in Romanian (pisica) and secondary words in Lith. (puz), Low Ger. (puus), etc.
(looking for pussy gets a much different word!)
bunny - 1690, dim. of Scottish dialectal bun, pet name for “rabbit,” previously (1587) for “squirrel,” and also a term of endearment for a young attractive woman or child (1606). Ultimately could be from Scottish bun “tail of a hare” (1538), or from Fr. bon, or from a Scand. source. The Playboy Club hostess sense is from 1960. The Bunny Hug (1912), along with the foxtrot and the Wilson glide, were among the popular/scandalous dances of the ragtime era.
many thanks, - my brain can rest in peace now