puppet
/ˈpʌpɪt/ noun, verb
Forms puppets puppeting puppeted
- noun Any small model of a person or animal able to be moved by strings or rods, or in the form of a glove.
- noun (figuratively) A person, country, etc, controlled by another.
- noun (obsolete) A poppet; a small image in the human form; a doll.
- noun (engineering) The upright support for the bearing of the spindle in a lathe.
- verb (transitive, also figuratively) To control or manipulate like a puppet.
Synonyms
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A small image in the human form; a doll.
- noun A similar figure moved by the hand or by a wire in a mock drama; a marionette; a wooden actor in a play.
Etymology [OE. popet, OF. poupette; akin to F. poupée a doll, probably from L. puppa, pupa, a girl, doll, puppet. Cf. Poupeton, Pupa, Pupil, Puppy.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “puppet”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details