How does pussy come to mean coward? Many people think that "pussy" is an diminutive of pusillanimous pusillanimous showing a lack of courage or determination; timid but a wikipedia article suggests that "pussy" is used as an alternate spelling of an obsolete English word "pursy"
meaning - difference between coward and pusillanimous - English . . . Pusillanimous differs from the other terms in in pointing more strongly to temperamental timidity than to fear as the basis of the resulting action or inaction Pusillanimous represents a contemptible moral squeamishness rather than a physical cowardliness, although it is quite possible for the same person to be both pusillanimous and cowardly
Stop being a pu@$y . . . divergence from original meaning and current . . . For one thing, as stated in the comments on the answer you reference, that derivation is not mentioned in the OED (I don't have access to check) For another, that seems a highly unlikely shortening (eg the vowel is wrong, and pusillanimous is only used as an adjective, and pussy is only commonly used as a noun) –
single word requests - What do you call a person who does not take . . . There's the relatively new term, found in psychology, business, economics, politics, etc risk averse If you want to cast the tendency in a very negative light, there is coward and a great many colloquial and slang terms along that line, some of which are offensive (chicken, yellow, pussy, pusillanimous, chicken-shit)
synonyms - English Language Usage Stack Exchange A number of alternatives are suggested here, including faint-hearted, scared, spineless, base, weak, shrinking, fearful, craven, dastardly, timorous and pusillanimous (as already suggested) It can't really be said that any of these avoids a hint of name-calling, and, depending on the nature of the attack, perhaps shrinking , weak , scared
What is a single word for someone who is easily discouraged? Someone who is pusillanimous is one that lacks courage or strength of purpose pusillanimous, adj 1 Of a person: lacking in courage or strength of purpose; faint-hearted, craven, cowardly (OED) If you want to include an element of reproach in your description you could call them a coward coward, adj 1 A reproachful designation for one who
Word that means annoyingly sheepish - English Language Usage Stack . . . This response I think has some of the worst suggestions and the best suggestion "Lackadaisical" is not at all what I'm going for, but "pusillanimous" is pretty close I think "pusillanimous" carries with it a connotation of contempt, wouldn't you say? Maybe I think so just because I hear "pussy" in the word
Are eery and eerie equally acceptable spellings? It’s of Scottish origin, and probably derived from ‘argh’, an adjective now limited to regional dialects, and meaning ‘cowardly, pusillanimous, timid, fearful’ and also ‘inert, sluggish, lazy, slow, loath, reluctant’ ‘Eerie’ and ‘eery’ are just two of the word’s historical spellings, of which the earliest is ‘hery’
etymology - Evolution of the word dick - English Language Usage . . . According to Grammopgobia the usage of the sexual connotation of "dick" Maverick have spread during the '50s and '60s as a consequence of verbal usage usages common at that time such as "dick around" and "dick off"