papu

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia)

papu m (plural papus)

1. (folklore) a fantastic creature used to scare children

• “papu” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “papu”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “papu” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Proto-Finnic *papu, borrowed from Proto-Slavic *bobъ.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɑpu/,
• Rhymes: -ɑpu
• Syllabification^(key): pa‧pu

papu

1. bean (edible seed or pod of plants of several genera of Fabaceae)
2. bean (similar seed of some other plants, e.g. coffee)
3. Ellipsis of tarhapapu (“common bean”) (plant Phaseolus vulgaris)
4. (informal) muscle, especially the biceps

• “papu”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

• pappu

From Proto-Finnic *papu. Cognates include Finnish papu and Veps babu.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑpu/,
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑpu/,
• Rhymes: -ɑpu
• Hyphenation: pa‧pu

papu

1. bean

Borrowed from Russian бабки (babki), perhaps influenced by Etymology 1 due to knucklebones' resemblance to beans.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑpu/,
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑpu/,
• Rhymes: -ɑpu
• Hyphenation: pa‧pu

papu

1. knucklebones: a traditional game, in which ten knucklebones are set in a row and players try to topple them by throwing another bone against them from a distance.
2. knucklebone (used in a game of knucklebones)

• Fedor Tumansky (1790) “пабу”, in Опытъ повѣствованїя о дѣянїях, положенїи, состоянїи и раздѣленїи Санкт-Петербургской губернїи [An experiment of an account of the acts, location, condition and division of the Saint Petersburg gubernia], Краткїй словарь ижерскаго, финскаго, эстонскаго, чюдскаго, и ямскаго нарѣчїя съ россїйскимъ переводомъ [A short dictionary of the Ingrian, Finnish, Estonian, Chud and Yamtian dialects with a Russian translation], page 693
• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 369

• IPA^(key):

papu m

1. accusative singular of papa
2. instrumental singular of papa

papu f

1. accusative singular of papa
2. instrumental singular of papa

Perhaps from papa (“glop, mush, pap”). Compare Latin pāpa, pappa, English pap, Hungarian papi.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpa.pu/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -apu
• Syllabification: pa‧pu

papu n (indeclinable)

1. (childish or humorous) food

   Synonym: jedzenie

• papu in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• papu in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Probably from papi or back-formation from papucho. Originated on Spanish-speaking Facebook group La Grasa in early 2010s, usually to describe its male members.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpapu/
• Rhymes: -apu
• Syllabification: pa‧pu

papu m (plural papus)

1. (Internet slang) guy, dude, bro

Probably cognate with Malecite-Passamaquoddy pahpu (“he plays”), Mohegan-Pequot pôhpu (“he plays”). Possibly cognate with Massachusett pauochau (“he plays”), Abenaki papo (“he plays”).

papu (animate intransitive)

1. (animate, intransitive) he/she plays

• papitun
• pèhpapitunk

• Rementer, Jim with Pearson, Bruce L. (2005) “papu”, in Leneaux, Grant, Whritenour, Raymond, editors, The Lenape Talking Dictionary, The Lenape Language Preservation Project

• IPA^(key): /pa.ˈpu/

papu

1. Alternative form of paapu (“knee, elbow, corner”)

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎, Pacific linguistics (as papú)