etymology

There appear to be a number of theories as to why the slang for the vagina (or perhaps more precisely, the vulva) is pussy. The most common derivation that I see in dictionaries and other resources is that it can be traced back to the Old Norse puss meaning "pouch" or "pocket". In that sense, it is not unlike the etymology of vagina which itself comes from the Latin vagina meaning "sheath" or "scabbard".

According to a handy Sanskrit dictionary from the library, the female equivalent of a guru (गुरु) is a gurvi (गुर्वी). This is confirmed to an extent in a couple of places. It is also interesting to note that guru literally means grave or weighty and is cognate with the English word grave.

Somebody asked me earlier today why a penis is also called a cock. I assumed that it had something to do with the rooster (the male chicken) being called a cock. While this is true, there's a little bit more to tell. Here's a brief investigation into the matter.

According to Etymonline:

Slang sense of "penis" is attested since 1610s (but cf. pillicock "penis," from c.1300);

I've long heard Brits scoffing at the use of the word buffalo for the the American Buffalo when it is actually a species of Bison. Here's a brief investigation into the matter.

Firstly, the entry from the American Heritage Dictionary has a remarkably informative history of the word, buffalo: