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)

A young dog, especially before sexual maturity (12–18 months)
A young rat.
A young seal.
(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.
(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.
(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

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: کَتُورا / 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)

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

Synonyms

pup
whelp