duppy

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

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

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈdʌpi/
  • Rhymes: -ʌpi

Noun

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, 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
  • 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

Verb

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
  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

Etymology

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

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

Noun

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

References
  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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