English

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A puppy (young dog)

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From earlier puppie (a woman's pet dog), of uncertain origin, but probably from Middle English *puppee, *poupee, from Old French poupée, popée (a doll; puppet). More at puppet.

Mostly displaced native Middle English whelp (puppy), from Old English hwelp, whence Modern English whelp and whelpie.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈpʌpi/, [ˈpʰɐpi]
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌpi

Noun

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puppy (plural puppies)

  1. A young dog, especially before sexual maturity (12–18 months)
  2. A young rat.
  3. A young seal.
  4. (slang, usually in the plural) A woman’s breast.
    • 2007, Rodney Carrington, Show Them To Me (from the album King of the Mountains)
      Unclasp your bra and set those puppies free.
  5. (informal) A (generic) thing; particularly something that is a nuisance; a sucker.
    I have another two dozen of these puppies to finish before I can go home.
  6. (derogatory, dated) A conceited and impertinent person, especially a young man.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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puppy (third-person singular simple present puppies, present participle puppying, simple past and past participle puppied)

  1. (transitive) To bring forth whelps or give birth to pups.

Synonyms

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Dutch

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Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English puppy.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈpʏ.pi/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: pup‧py

Noun

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puppy m or n (plural puppy's, diminutive puppy'tje n)

  1. puppy (young dog)
    Synonyms: pup, welp