guppy

[ guhp-ee ]

/ ˈgʌp i /

noun, plural gup·pies.

a small, freshwater topminnow, Poecilia reticulata, often kept in aquariums.

Nearby words

gunther, guntur, gunwale, gunyah, guo moruo, guppy, gupta, gur, gurdjieff, gurdjieff, george ivanovich, gurdwara

Origin of guppy

named after R.J.L. Guppy (1836–1916) of Trinidad, who presented specimens to the British Museum; catalogued under the New Latin name Gerardinus guppyi in 1866

Also called rainbow fish.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for guppy

Mr. Guppy nods and gives him a "lucky touch" on the back, but not with the washed hand, though it is his right hand.
Bleak House|Charles Dickens
Mr. Jobling approving, Smallweed puts himself under the tall hat and conveys it out of the dining-rooms in the Guppy manner.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXIX., October, 1852|Various
Then, inside the glass (but we could not touch it, you know) came up something wrapped in muslin: Mrs. Guppy said it was a head.
The Story of My Life, volumes 4-6|Augustus J. C. Hare
Mr. Guppy immediately withdraws his eyes from her face and looks anywhere else.
Bleak House|Charles Dickens

But Mr. Carstone is for the time being established in Kenge's room, whereat Mr. Guppy chafes.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXIX., October, 1852|Various

British Dictionary definitions for guppy

guppy

/ (ˈɡʌpɪ) /

noun plural -pies

a small brightly coloured freshwater viviparous cyprinodont fish, Lebistes reticulatus, of N South America and the Caribbean: a popular aquarium fish

Word Origin for guppy

C20: named after R. J. L. Guppy, 19th-century clergyman of Trinidad who first presented specimens to the British Museum

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 guppy

guppy

1925, named for R.J.L. Guppy, Trinidad clergyman who supplied the first specimen (1866) to the British Museum. The family name is from a place in Dorset. The class of streamlined U.S. submarines (1948) is an acronym from greater underwater propulsion power + -y.