puppet meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

puppet

noun

UK, US /ˈpʌpɪt/ · NZ /ˈpɐpət/

Etymology From Middle English popet, probably from, though attested earlier than, Middle French poupette, diminutive of poupée (cf. also Medieval Latin *pupata), ultimately derived from Latin pupa (“doll, puppet; girl”). The nominal form first appears c. 1531, and the verbal form c. 1635. See also puppy.

Any small model of a person or animal able to be moved by strings or rods, or in the form of a glove.

Figuratively A person, country, etc, controlled by another.

These men , from no worse motive that could be discovered than a thirst after knowledge beyond their sphere , committed burglary upon the barn in which the puppets had been consigned to repose1820 March, [Walter Scott], The Monastery. A Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Co., and John Ballantyne, […], →OCLC:
Every act of a Roman, from birth to death, from dawn to night, was controlled and supervised by some presiding deity. Man was thus virtually a symbolic puppet in the hands of the Roman pantheon.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 209:

Obsolete A poppet; a small image in the human form; a doll.

Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences The upright support for the bearing of the spindle in a lathe.

Synonyms: monkey, creature, sport
Derived terms: 30 terms
finger puppet, fuckpuppet, glove puppet, hand puppet, happy puppet syndrome, meatpuppet, meat puppet, Muppet, puppet army, puppetdom, puppeteer, puppet government, puppethood, puppetish, puppetism, puppetize, puppet leader, puppetless, puppetlike, puppetman, puppetmaster, puppet regime, puppet ruler, puppetry, puppet show, puppet state, puppet valve, shadow puppet, sock puppet, telepuppet
Related terms: marionette, muppet, puppy

puppet

verb

Also, Figuratively To control or manipulate like a puppet.