moppet
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of moppet
Explanation
An adorable child can be called a moppet. A sweet moppet sitting behind you on an airplane is completely different from a screaming, kicking kid occupying that seat. Though it's a bit old fashioned, you can use the informal word moppet when you're talking fondly about a child. You might watch a group of moppets learning to skate on an ice rink or enjoy a movie about some adorable moppets who scheme to get their lost dog back. Traditionally, this word usually referred to a girl, and earlier it meant "a doll," from the Middle English moppe, "little child or baby doll."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The illustration for The Story of Miss Moppet features instructions from the author on how it was to be reduced for the title-page illustration.
From BBC • Jul. 28, 2016
The sale also includes an illustration Potter did for a Christmas card, and an original watercolour design for The Story of Miss Moppet.
From BBC • Jul. 27, 2016
Biologist and author Rachel Carson at home with pet cat Moppet on 24 September 1962.
From The Guardian • Sep. 27, 2012
In Syracuse, N.Y., a juvenile court warrant placed a piggy-bank-robbery charge against Moppet Jesse James.
From Time Magazine Archive
When this was done, Davy and Dan were to take Moppet, if they could, and make her happy on the island.
From Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag VI An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, Etc. by Alcott, Louisa May
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
