duppy

English

Alternative forms

• duppie, doopy, dupie

Etymology

Jamaica, circa 18th century. From Bube dupe (“ghost”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdʌpi/
• Rhymes: -ʌpi

Noun

duppy (plural duppies)

1. (Caribbean) A ghost or spirit, often appearing in the form of a dog barking or howling through the night.
   • 1774, Edward Long, The History of Jamaica‎^[1], volume 2, page 416:

     They firmly believe in the apparition of spectres. Those of deceased friends are duppies; others, of more hostile and tremendous aspect, like our raw-head-and-bloody-bones, are called bugaboos.

2. (Jamaica, games) A drawn game of noughts and crosses (in Jamaica tii-taa-tuo).

Synonyms

• (ghost): See Thesaurus:ghost

Derived terms

• duppy bird
• duppy calalu
• duppy cap
• duppy-catcher
• duppy cherry
• duppy-conqueror
• duppy cucumber
• duppy cup
• duppy fee-fee
• duppy fiddle
• duppy fly-trap
• duppy gun
• duppy melon
• duppy needle
• duppy peas
• duppy pindar
• duppy poison
• duppy pop-gun
• duppy pumpkin
• duppy riding-horse
• duppy soursop
• duppy tomato
• duppy umbrella

 

• This term is one of the documented possible origins of Davy Jones. See more at Davy Jones' Locker on Wikipedia.

Verb

duppy (third-person singular simple present duppies, present participle duppying, simple past and past participle duppied)

1. (MLE, transitive) To kill; to murder.
   • 2008, Kingsley Ogundele, online message quoted in 2010 January 27, Rob Sharp, "CSI: Chatroom", The Independent

     He refers to his intention to kill a schoolgirl pregnant with Jolie's unborn baby – who the pair believe is giving Jolie undue hassle. "I'll get da fiend to duppy her den," he writes.

   • 2011, Alex Wheatle, The Dirty South, Profile Books →ISBN, page 176

     He duppied my bredren and as long as I could remember Paps was telling me not to trust the Feds.

2. (MLE, by extension, transitive) To excel in.
   • 2011, Kano, guest on Lethal Bizzle, "Pow 2011"

     I duppied every rave.

Synonyms

• (to kill): see Thesaurus:kill