puppy

B1 Topic:Animals

US /ˈpʌpi/ UK /ˈpʌpi/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like poppy /ʌ/ vs /ɑ/

Freq #4586

Meanings

1

noun
A young dog.

The children laughed as the puppy chased its tail.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a young dog. pup whelp

Word family

Forms puppiespuppyhood

Derived forms hushpuppymudpuppyporta-puppypupkuspuppihoodpuppilypuppy-eyedpuppy-loveypuppyboypuppychinopuppydompuppyfication

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

mud puppy
An aquatic North American salamander that retains feathery external gills as an adult.

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Puppy entered English in the late Middle Ages from Old French poupee “doll, plaything.” It is related to poppet and puppet and was later shortened to pup in the mid-16th century.

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.

*peh₂w- Proto-Indo-European *puppee Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Animals

External links

# puppy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpʌpi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpʌpi/
**Frequency rank:** 4586

## Meanings
1. A young dog.

## Examples
- The children laughed as the puppy chased its tail.

## Derived Forms
- hushpuppy
- mudpuppy
- porta-puppy
- pupkus
- puppihood
- puppily
- puppy-eyed
- puppy-lovey
- puppyboy
- puppychino
- puppydom
- puppyfication

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *peh₂w-
- Root: *puppee

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Puppy comes 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. In present-day English it covers a young dog. The wider family includes derived forms such as hushpuppy, mudpuppy, porta-puppy, pupkus, puppihood.

## Topics
- Animals

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