Origin and history of poop

poop(n.1)

"stern or aftermost deck of a ship," c. 1400, from Old French poupe "stern of a ship" (14c.), from Old Provençal or Italian poppa, from Latin puppis "poop, stern," a word of uncertain origin. Also "a deck above the ordinary deck on the aftermost part of a ship." As a verb, "to break heavily over the stern of a ship" (of waves, etc.). Poop deck is attested by 1779.

also from c. 1400

poop(n.2)

"excrement," 1744, a children's euphemism, probably of imitative origin. The verb in this sense is from 1903, but the same word in the sense "to break wind softly" is attested from 1721; earlier "to make a short blast on a horn" (poupen, late 14c.). Meaning "stupid or dull person" is from 1915, but this is perhaps short for nincompoop. Pooper-scooper is attested from 1970.

also from 1744

poop(n.3)

"up-to-date information," 1941, in poop sheet, U.S. Army slang, of unknown origin, perhaps from poop (n.2).

also from 1941

poop(v.)

"become tired," 1931, of unknown origin (see pooped). With out (adv.) by 1934. Related: Pooping.

also from 1931

Entries linking to poop

nincompoop(n.)

1670s, nicompoop, also ninkompoop; the modern form is attested by 1680s. Another frequent spelling through 18c. was nickum-poop. Defined in the 1699 Dictionary of the Canting Crew as "a Fool, also a silly soft, Uxorious Fellow."

Despite the similarity [noted by Johnson] to the Latin legal phrase non compos mentis "insane, mentally incompetent" (c. 1600), the connection is denied by the OED's etymologists because the earliest forms lack the second -n-. Weekley thinks first element may be a proper name, and cites Nicodemus, which he says was used in French for "a fool," or Nicholas. 17c. slang also offers Nickum as a term for a cheat, said by the Dictionaries of the Scots Language to be a diminutive of Nick in the sense of the devil. Klein says it is probably an invented word. Century Dictionary has no objection to the non compos mentis theory.

"And dost thou bid me good morrow ? Why, you Ninny, you Nicompoop, you Noun Adjective, for thou canst not stand by thy self, I am sure;" etc. [Thomas D'Urfey, "A Fool's Preferment," 1688]

pooped(adj.)

"tired," 1931, of unknown origin, perhaps imitative of the sound of heavy breathing from exhaustion (compare poop (n.2)). But poop, poop out were used in 1920s in aviation, of an engine, "to die." Also there is a verb poop, of ships, "to be overwhelmed by a wave from behind," often with catastrophic consequences (see poop (n.1)); hence in figurative nautical use, "to be overcome and defeated" (attested in 1920s).

It is an easy thing to "run"; the difficulty is to know when to stop. There is always the possibility of being "pooped," which simply means being overtaken by a mountain of water and crushed into the depths out of harm's way for good and all. [Ralph Stock, "The Cruise of the Dream Ship," 1921]

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Trends of poop

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.