# duppy
## English
### Alternative forms

* (ghost): duffy, duppie, doopy, dupie

### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈdʌpi/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -ʌpi

### Noun

duppy (plural duppies)
* (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.
* (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
* 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)
* (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
* (MLE, by extension, transitive) To excel in.
** 2011, Kano, guest on Lethal Bizzle, "Pow 2011"
    I duppied every rave.

### References

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

## Jamaican Creole
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈdʌpɪ/
* Hyphenation: du‧ppy

### Noun

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

* Blackheart Man
* Rolling Calf

### References

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