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moppet

[mop-it]
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noun
  1. a young child.
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Origin of moppet

1900–05; obsolete mop rag doll, baby (see mop1) + -et
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for moppet

Historical Examples

  • Dora was already tired of him; so he was soon forgotten by all but Moppet.

    Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag VI

    Louisa M. Alcott

  • Nobody ever knew the best part of the story but Moppet, Davy, and Gulliver.

    Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag VI

    Louisa M. Alcott

  • But did you remember the airs of the moppet—Could any thing be more ridiculous?

    The Heiress;

    John Burgoyne

  • "Let us climb up the rockery, and sit on the garden wall," said Moppet.

  • While their mother was searching the house, Moppet and Mittens had got into mischief.

British Dictionary definitions for moppet

moppet

noun
  1. a less common word for poppet (def. 1)
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Word Origin

C17: from obsolete mop rag doll; of obscure origin
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 moppet

n.

endearing term for a baby, a girl, etc., c.1600, from Middle English moppe "little child, baby doll" (mid-15c.) + -et, diminutive suffix. The Middle English word also meant "simpleton, fool," and may have been cognate with Low German mop "simpleton" [Barnhart]. Or, if "baby doll" is the original sense in Middle English, perhaps from Latin mappa "napkin, tablecloth," hence "rag doll."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper