''-ussy'' ( ) is an English-language

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

derived from the word ''

pussy ''Pussy'' is a used as a noun, an adjective, and—in rare instances—a verb in the English language. It has several meanings, as slang, as euphemism, and as vulgarity. The most common as a noun, it means "cat", as well as "coward or weaklin ...

'' used to create novel portmanteau terms, usually referring to hole-shaped objects. The suffix has existed within LGBT slang in the form ''bussy'' (''boy pussy'') since the early 2000s, but was popularized in the late 2010s and early 2020s on social media platforms including TikTok. It was named the American Dialect Society's word of the year for 2022.

History

The suffix originated within LGBT slang in the forms '' bussy'' (''boy pussy'') and ''mussy'' (''man pussy''), referring to a man's

anus The anus (Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, the residual semi-solid waste that remains after food digestion, which, d ...

, with these forms first appearing on the internet between 1999 and 2004. An April 2017 Tumblr post popularized the suffix with the term ''

thrussy ''-ussy'' ( ) is an English-language suffix derived from the word ''pussy'' used to create novel portmanteau terms, usually referring to hole-shaped objects. The suffix has existed within LGBT slang in the form ''bussy'' (''boy pussy'') since t ...

'' (from '' throat''), and it was further spread as part of the "one thicc bih"

Internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

that began to spread about a month later. A 2018 study of ''-ussy'' usage on Twitter as part of the meme identified 1,338 "pussy blends" used in tweets from June to August 2017. Use of the suffix in forms other than ''bussy'' (also called ''-ussification'') was popularized by TikTok users beginning in late 2021. This -ussification has been used to reference objects' cavities (e.g., a donut's ') as well as in a more figurative sense to denote the original object or concept with emphasis (a

barista A barista (; ; from the Italian/Spanish for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks. Etymology and inflection The word ''barista'' comes from Italian where it means a male ...

putting their "whole '" into latte art). Rapper Lil Nas X also helped to popularize the suffix, advocating for the inclusion of ''bussy'' in the dictionary for

Pride Month LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically in June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and ha ...

. The suffix was named the word of the year for 2022 by the American Dialect Society with Ben Zimmer, the president of the society, stating that the selection "highlights how creativity in new word formation has been embraced online in venues like TikTok." Michael Dow, a linguist at the , wrote an article analyzing different uses of the suffix, such as the merging of " Margaret Thatcher" with "-ussy" to create the portmanteau ''Thatchussy''. Other examples include '' clussy'' (clown and pussy) and ''grussy'' ( Grinch and pussy).

References

{{Generation Z slang English suffixes LGBT slang 2000s neologisms Vulva