Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

dupe

1
[doop, dyoop]
See more synonyms for dupe on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who is easily deceived or fooled; gull.
  2. a person who unquestioningly or unwittingly serves a cause or another person: a dupe of the opponents.
Show More
verb (used with object), duped, dup·ing.
  1. to make a dupe of; deceive; delude; trick.
Show More

Origin of dupe

1
1675–85; < French; Middle French duppe for *(tête) d'uppe head of hoopoe, i.e., fool (compare tête de fou) < Vulgar Latin *uppa, Latin upupa hoopoe, a bird thought to be especially stupid; cf. hoopoe
Related formsdup·a·ble, adjectivedup·a·bil·i·ty, noundup·er, nounun·dup·a·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for duper

like, double, clone, duplicate, look-alike, equal, Xerox, dupe, twin, carbon, equivalent, ditto, aforesaid, comparable, compatible, corresponding, indistinguishable, interchangeable, likewise, related

Examples from the Web for duper

Historical Examples of duper

  • The Beau tried to preserve his dignity, and throw over his duper, but in vain.

    The Wits and Beaux of Society

    Grace Wharton and Philip Wharton

  • Come to find out it was the proprietor's wife, Mrs. Duper, an old mexican lady, who had been watching our maneuvers.

    A Texas Cow Boy

    Chas. A. Siringo

  • As a dupe was shown above, now the duper is signified, by Fig. 110.

British Dictionary definitions for duper

dupe

noun
  1. a person who is easily deceived
  2. a person who unwittingly serves as the tool of another person or power
Show More
verb
  1. (tr) to deceive, esp by trickery; make a dupe or tool of; cheat; fool
Show More
Derived Formsdupable, adjectivedupability, nounduper, noundupery, noun

Word Origin for dupe

C17: from French, from Old French duppe, contraction of de huppe of (a) hoopoe (from Latin upupa); from the bird's reputation for extreme stupidity
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for duper

dupe

n.

1680s, from French dupe "deceived person," from Middle French duppe (early 15c.), thieves' jargon, perhaps from phrase de huppe "of the hoopoe," an extravagantly crested and reputedly stupid bird.

Show More

dupe

v.

1704, from dupe (n.). Related: Duped; duping.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper