Thursday Etymology Lesson: pus

Brought to you from the mind of my pal Joe Fallon, I had to choose this word today as I am at the hospital (nothing serious).  Today’s word is pus!  You know, that white stuff inside of zits.  This word comes to us from the late 14c., from Latin pus “matter from a sore.”  Pus is related to puter meaning, “rotten” which you may recognize from the word putrid.  Puter is an old word that comes from the Sanskrit words puyati meaning, “rots, stinks,” and putih meaning, “stinking, foul.”  Also from the Greek puon “discharge from a sore,” and pythein “to cause to rot.”  Eeeeeew.