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papoose. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
papoose, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
papoose in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
papoose you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Borrowed from Narragansett papoos (“child”).
Pronunciation
Noun
papoose (plural papooses)
- (US, dated, offensive) A Native American baby.
1893, Bram Stoker, The Squaw:[…] a half-breed what they nicknamed "Splinters" 'cos of the way he fixed up her papoose which he stole on a raid […]
1930, Edna Ferber, Cimarron, page 11:They say he has Indian blood in him. They say he has an Indian wife somewhere, and a lot of papooses. Cherokee.
1957, Jack Kerouac, chapter 8, in On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC, part 2:In the empty Houston streets of four o’clock in the morning a motorcycle kid suddenly roared through, all bespangled and bedecked with glittering buttons, visor, slick black jacket, a Texas poet of the night, girl gripped on his back like a papoose, […]
- (UK) A backpack for carrying a baby, or specifically a cradleboard.
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