Wiktionary

duppy

English

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 duppy on Wikipedia

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Jamaica, circa 18th century. From Bube dupe (“ghost”)[1][2] (compare Akan adɔpe).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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duppy (plural duppies)

  1. (Caribbean, Jamaica) A ghost or spirit, often appearing in the form of a dog barking or howling through the night.
    Synonyms: jumbie; see also Thesaurus:ghost
    • 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.
    • 2014, Marlon James, A Brief History of Seven Killings, Oneworld Publications (2015), page 257:
      Then on the left me see a duppy and try to run.
  2. (Jamaica, games) A drawn game of noughts and crosses (in Jamaica tii-taa-tuo).

Derived terms

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Verb

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

  1. (MLE, MTE, 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.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:kill
  2. (MLE, by extension, transitive) To excel in.
    • 2011, Kano, guest on Lethal Bizzle, "Pow 2011"
      I duppied every rave.

References

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  1. ^ Cassidy, Frederic Gomes, Le Page, Robert Brock (2002) Dictionary of Jamaican English, University of the West Indies Press, →ISBN, page 164
  2. ^ “duppy”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Jamaican Creole

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Etymology

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Possibly derived from Bube dupe (“ghost”)[1] or Akan adɔpe.[2] Compare Bajan duppy.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈdʌpɪ/
  • Hyphenation: du‧ppy

Noun

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duppy (plural duppy dem, quantified duppy) (Cassidy/JLU orthography spelling dopi)

  1. ghost; an evil spirit; duppy; poltergeist (ghost)
    Yuh fraid a duppy?
    Are you afraid of ghosts?
    Di duppy dem a mash up di place.
    The poltergeists are wrecking the place.
    • 2018, “Man uses obeah to chase duppies from house”, in The Jamaica Star (in English):
      “Duppy did inna me house one time. Dem did a mek me couldn’t sleep […] ”
      Once there were poltergeists in my home. I had trouble sleeping because of them […]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cassidy, Frederic Gomes, Le Page, Robert Brock (2002) Dictionary of Jamaican English, University of the West Indies Press, →ISBN, page 164
  2. ^ Richard Allsopp, editor (1996), Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 207
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