puppy

English

A puppy (young dog)

Alternative forms

• puppie (obsolete)

Etymology

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

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈpʌpi/, [ˈpʰɐpi]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌpi

Noun

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.
   • 1711 July 24 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, July 13, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 106; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

     I found my place taken by an ill-bred, awkward puppy with a money bag under each arm.

     The spelling has been modernized.

   • 1735 January 13 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1734), [Alexander] Pope, An Epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot, London: […] J[ohn] Wright for Lawton Gilliver […], →OCLC, page 12, lines 218–221:

     I ne'r vvith VVits and VVitlings paſt my days, / To ſpread about the Itch of Verſe and Praiſe, / Nor like a Puppy daggled thro' the Tovvn, / To fetch and carry Sing-ſong up and dovvn; […]

Synonyms

• (young dog): dogling, pup, whelp, whelpie
• (young seal): pup
• (woman’s breast): See also Thesaurus:breast

Derived terms

• common mudpuppy
• common mud puppy
• dog puppy
• forest puppy
• Hush Puppies
• hushpuppy
• hush puppy
• mudpuppy
• mud puppy
• orange puppy
• puppy dog
• puppy dog eyes
• puppy-dog eyes
• puppy-eyed
• puppy fat
• puppy foot
• puppy guarding
• puppyhood
• puppy love
• puppy-lovey
• puppy mill
• puppy milling
• puppy pregnancy syndrome
• puppy school
• puppy water
• purse puppy
• sand puppy
• sick puppy
• stress puppy
• stud puppy
• sweater puppies
• teacup puppy
• wolf puppy

 

Translations

young dog

• Afrikaans: hondjie (af) n
• Arabic: جَرْو (ar) m (jarw)

  Lebanese Arabic: جرو m (járo)

  Moroccan Arabic: كليب m (kliyyib)

  South Levantine Arabic: جرو m (járu)

• Armenian: լակոտ (hy) (lakot), թուլա (hy) (tʻula), քոթոթ (hy) (kʻotʻotʻ)
• Aromanian: cãtsãl m
• Asturian: perrín m, cachorru (ast) m
• Avar: таращ (tarašš)
• Bashkir: көсөк (kösök)
• Basque: txakurkume (eu)
• Belarusian: шчаню́к m (ščanjúk), шчаня́ n (ščanjá), шчанё n (ščanjó), цю́цька f (cjúcʹka)
• Bengali: কুত্তার বাচ্চা (bn) (kuttar bacca), কুকুরছানা (bn) (kukurchana)
• Bulgarian: ку́ченце (bg) n (kúčence), па́ле (bg) n (pále), кутре́ (bg) n (kutré)
• Burmese: ခွေးကလေး (my) (hkwe:ka.le:)
• Catalan: cadell (ca) m
• Central Dusun: duku
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 狗仔 (gau² zai²)

  Mandarin: 小狗 (zh) (xiǎogǒu)

• Cornish: kolyn
• Crimean Tatar: küçelek, boşıq
• Czech: štěně (cs) n
• Danish: hvalp (da) c
• Dutch: puppy (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: hundido (eo), hundidino (female)
• Estonian: kutsikas (et), kutsikas (et)
• Even: качикан (kacikan)
• Finnish: pentu (fi), penikka (fi), koiranpentu (fi)
• French: chiot (fr) m
• Friulian: nassint m
• Gagauz: pali
• Galician: cachorro (gl) m, cadelo (gl) m
• Gallurese: catteddu
• Georgian: ლეკვი (leḳvi)
• German: Welpe (de) m, Hündchen (de) n, Hundewelpe (de) m, junger Hund m, Hundebaby n (colloquial)
• Greek: κουτάβι (el) n (koutávi)

  Ancient: κῠνίδιον n (kunídion), σκύλαξ m (skúlax)

• Greenlandic: qimmiaraq
• Gujarati: ગલૂડિયું (galūḍiyũ), કુરકુરિયું (kurkuriyũ)
• Hawaiian: ʻīlio keiki
• Hebrew: כלבלב (he) m, גּוּר (he) m (gur)
• Hindi: पिल्ला (hi) m (pillā)
• Hungarian: kiskutya (hu), kölyökkutya (hu)
• Iban: anak chauk
• Icelandic: hvolpur m
• Ido: hundyuno (io), hundyunulo (male), hundyunino (female)
• Ilocano: uken
• Indonesian: anak anjing
• Irish: coileáinín m
• Italian: cucciolo (it) m, cagnolino (it) m, cagnetto (it) m
• Japanese: 子犬 (ja) (こいぬ, koinu)
• Jarai: nĕng
• Javanese: kirik (jv)
• Kazakh: күшік (küşık)
• Khmer: កូនឆ្កែ (koun chkae)
• Korean: 강아지 (ko) (gang'aji)
• Lao: ລູກໝາ (lūk mā), ລູກຫມາ (lūk mā)
• Latgalian: kucāns m, sunāns m
• Latin: catulus m, catellus m
• Latvian: kucēns m
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: кученце n (kučence), кутре n (kutre)
• Malay:

  Jawi: انق انجيڠ, انق اسو, کيريق

  Rumi: anak anjing, anak asu, kirik (ms)

• Maltese: ġeru m, ġerwa f
• Manchu: ᠨᡳᠶᠠᡥᠠᠨ (niyahan)
• Maranao: tito
• Mazanderani: کتکا (kətkâ)
• Mi'kmaq: lmu'ji'j, nmu'ji'j
• Mongolian: гөлөг (mn) (gölög), нохойн гөлөг (noxojn gölög)
• Montagnais: atimuss
• Navajo: łééchąąyázhí
• Nepali: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: valp (no) m

  Nynorsk: kvalp m, kvelp m

• Occitan: cadèl (oc) m, cadèu (oc) m, gosset m, canhòt (oc) m, canhon m
• Old East Slavic: щенѧ n (ščenę)
• Old English: hwelp m
• Persian: توله سگ (fa) (tule sag)
• Polish: szczeniak (pl) m, szczenię (pl) n
• Portuguese: filhote de cão m, cachorro (pt) m, cachorrinho (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਕਤੂਰਾ (pa) m (katūrā)
• Quechua: allqucha
• Romani: rikono m, zhukeloro m
• Romanian: cățel (ro) m, cățeluș (ro) m
• Russian: щено́к (ru) m (ščenók), (colloquial) цу́цик (ru) m (cúcik), кутёнок (ru) m (kutjónok)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: catteddu, calleddu, cacciurru

  Logudorese: cacciùcciu, catteddu

• Sassarese: catteddu, cucciucciu
• Scottish Gaelic: cuilean m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: штѐне n, ште́нац m

  Roman: štène (sh) n, šténac (sh) m

• Sherpa: please add this translation if you can
• Sicilian: cagnolu (scn) m
• Slovak: šteňa (sk) n
• Slovene: kužek m, ščene n
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: šćenje n

• Southern Altai: кӱчӱк (küčük)
• Spanish: cachorro (es) m, perrito (es) m
• Swedish: hundvalp (sv) c, valp (sv) c
• Tagal Murut: kuku
• Tagalog: tuta (tl)
• Tamil: நாய்க்குட்டி (ta) (nāykkuṭṭi)
• Tarifit: aqzin m
• Telugu: కుక్కపిల్ల (te) (kukkapilla)
• Thai: ลูกหมา (th) (lûuk-mǎa)
• Tibetan: ཁྱི་ཕྲུག (khyi phrug), ཨ་ཡོ་འོ (a yo 'o)
• Turkish: enik (tr), yavru köpek, köpek yavrusu
• Turkmen: güjük
• Ukrainian: цуценя́ (uk) n (cucenjá), щеня́ n (ščenjá), собача́ n (sobačá)
• Venetian: cagnol
• Vietnamese: chó con, cún (vi), cún con
• Volapük: dogül (vo)
• Walloon: tchinot (wa) m, djonne di tchén (wa) m
• Welsh: ci bach (cy) m
• Wolof: kuti bi (wo)
• Yiddish: הינטעלע n (hintele)

young rat

• Esperanto: ratido
• French: raton (fr) m
• German: Rattenjunges n
• Latin: musculus
• Occitan: raton m
• Portuguese: ratinho (pt) m
• Romanian: raton (ro) m
• Swedish: råttunge (sv) c
• Volapük: ratül

young seal

• Bulgarian: тюленче n (tjulenče)
• Esperanto: fokido, marhundido
• Finnish: kuutti (fi)
• German: Heuler (de) m, Robbenbaby (de) n, Robbenjunges n, Seehundjunges n
• Indonesian: anak anjing laut
• Latin: phocula
• Macedonian: фокиче n (fokiče)
• Scottish Gaelic: isean m, cuilean m
• Swedish: kut (sv) c
• Volapük: fukül

slang: a woman’s breast — see tit,‎ boob

Verb

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

• pup
• whelp