If you've ever watched the 1997 movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, chances are you might have gotten a good laugh at the line above. After all, it does contain one of the more vulgar words in the English language: pussy; which is slang for vagina. But where did the term pussy come from? How was it originally used? And how do we use it today?

The term pussy originated a long time ago and was used in reference (still is) to a cat. However, the German term "puse," which means vulva or the Old Norse term "puss," which means pocket or pouch are also closely related to the word pussy. Over time, this word took on a feminine connotation. For example, Philip Stubbes wrote in his 1583 book The Anatomie of Abuses, "The word pussie is now used of a woman."

Pussy also means a "soft, warm, furry thing," and it was not long before it became a term of endearment towards women. In the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin written in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe, one of the male characters says to his daughter, "What do you think, pussy?"

Around the late 19th century, pussy began to take on its current sexual meaning. There was a famous vaudeville act preformed by the Barrison Sisters called "Would you like to see my pussy?" During this act, the sisters would rile up the audience with this simple question, only to lift up their skirts at the end to reveal a live kitten sewn into their underwear, with a hole created for the head of the kitten to look out. It was considered very risque and played on the double meaning of the word "pussy."

Since that time, other people have used the term for sexual innuendo, like the Bond character Pussy Galore and the pop-singing group (and burlesque act) The Pussycat Dolls. In addition, there are people who just like to use "pussy" as another word for vagina, like Jay-Z sings in the song "Pussy:"

"I know this girl we call her sweet cooch brown./Hands down mami had the bombest pussy in town."

The term is also used to refer to a coward. For example, someone might say (usually to a male), "Don't be such a pussy." This particular meaning is believed to have evolved from the old English word "pursy," which meant "fat and short-breathed; fat, short, and thick; swelled with pampering." It wasn't long before people connected effeminate men to this term due to its direct relation to a woman's body part.