I send Millie 'outside.' I tell her to poop. Also to make an M-N-O-Pee. She likes to pee 'on the deck' and often to 'poop on the deck.' Ok, it is really a patio. But it made me think about the terms poop and poop deck.
Poop's meaning started as the "stern or aftermost deck of a ship," c. 1400, from Old French poupe "stern of a ship" (14c.), from Old Provençal or Italian poppa, from Latin puppis "poop, stern," a word of uncertain origin. Also "a deck above the ordinary deck on the aftermost part of a ship." As a verb, "to break heavily over the stern of a ship" (of waves, etc.). Poop deck is attested by 1779."
"excrement," 1744, a children's euphemism, probably of imitative origin. The verb in this sense is from 1903, but the same word in the sense "to break wind softly" is attested from 1721; earlier "to make a short blast on a horn" (poupen, late 14c.). Meaning "stupid or dull person" is from 1915, but this is perhaps short for nincompoop. Pooper-scooper is attested from 1970.
And what about Pooh the bear? Is that name related to poop and poo? According to the NY Public Library, where the original stuffed animals reside (In the Donnell branch, on West 53rd: "The curious name of Winnie-the-Pooh came from Christopher Robin, from a combination of the names of a real bear and a pet swan. During the 1920s there was a black bear (from Canada) named "Winnie" (after Winnipeg) in the London Zoo who had been the mascot for the Winnipeg regiment of the Canadian army. "Pooh" was the name of a swan in When We Were Very Young."
This picture is from the Marie Selby Gardens in Florida. This statue of a thinker is sitting in a field of wildflowers - orchids. I realize this angle makes him appear to be sitting on a toilet. A perfect match for today's word.
