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Origin and history of pup

pup(n.)

1760, "young dog," shortened form of puppy (q.v.). Used earlier (from 1580s) for "conceited person," from the figurative sense of puppy. An English-Latin wordbook from late 15c. for Latin pupa gives English pup-bairn. Applied to the young of the fur seal from 1815. Used for "inexperienced person" by 1890.

Pup tent (also dog tent) as a type of small tent used in the military is from 1863. Sopwith pup, popular name of the Sopwith Scout Tractor airplane, is from 1917.

also from 1760

Entries linking to pup

puppy(n.)

late 15c., "woman's small pet dog," a word of uncertain origin but likely to be from French poupée "doll, toy" (see puppet). "A little dog appears to have been called puppy because petted as a doll or puppet" [Century Dictionary].

The meaning shifted from "toy dog" to "young dog" (1590s), replacing native whelp. In early use in English the words puppet and puppy were not always distinguished. The word also was used from about that time in the contemptuous sense of "vain or silly young man."

Puppy-dog is attested by 1590s (in Shakespeare, puppi-dogges). Puppy love "juvenile infatuation" is from 1823. Puppy fat "excessive fat on a child or adolescent" is by 1913 (in reference to young dogs by 1894).

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    mascot
    He may be a boy possessed of some special attainment or physical peculiarity, or he may be a bull-pup with a prominent patch...
    bear
    Old English beran "to carry, bring; bring forth, give birth to, produce; to endure without resistance; to support, hold up, sustain; to wear" (class IV strong verb; past tense bær, past participle boren), from Proto-Germanic *beranan (source also of Old Saxon beran, Old Frisian b
    brae
    "steep slope," in northern England especially "the side of a hill," early 14c., from Scottish, "slope, river bank," perhaps from Old Norse bra "eyelash," cognate with Old English bræw "eyelid," German Braue "eyebrow" (see brow). "The word must have passed through the sense of 'ey
    youth
    Old English geoguð "youth; young people, junior warriors; young of cattle," related to geong "young," from Proto-Germanic *jugunthi- (source also of Old Saxon juguth, Old Frisian jogethe, Middle Dutch joghet, Dutch jeugd, Old High German jugund, German Jugend, Gothic junda "youth
    have
    Old English habban "to own, possess; be subject to, experience," from Proto-Germanic *habejanan (source also of Old Norse hafa, Old Saxon hebbjan, Old Frisian habba, German haben, Gothic haban "to have"), from PIE root *kap- "to grasp." Not related to Latin habere, despite simila
    birth
    c. 1200, "fact of being born;" mid-13c., "act of giving birth, a bringing forth by the mother, childbirth," sometimes in Middle English also "conception;" also "that which is born, offspring, child;" from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse *byrðr (replacing cognate Old Engli
    deliver
    c. 1200, deliveren, "save, rescue, set free, liberate," from Old French delivrer "to set free; remove; save, preserve; hand over (goods)," also used of childbirth, from Late Latin deliberare, from de "away" (see de-) + Latin liberare "to free," from liber "free, unrestricted, uni
    dog
    "quadruped of the genus Canis," Old English docga, a late, rare word, used in at least one Middle English source in reference specifically to a powerful breed of canine; other early Middle English uses tend to be depreciatory or abusive. Its origin remains one of the great myster
    tent
    c. 1300, "portable shelter of skins or coarse cloth stretched over poles," from Old French tente "tent, hanging, tapestry" (12c.), from Medieval Latin tenta "a tent," literally "something stretched out," noun use of fem. singular of Latin tentus "stretched," variant past particip
    assess
    early 15c., "to fix the amount (of a tax, fine, etc.)," from Anglo-French assesser, from Medieval Latin assessare "fix a tax upon," originally frequentative of Latin assessus "a sitting by," past participle of assidere/adsidere "to sit beside" (and thus to assist in the office of

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