Poop (pronounced poop)
(1) In naval architecture, as “poop deck”, a
structure at the stern of a vessel.
(2) In nautical jargon, (1) as of a wave, to break
over the stern of a ship or (2) to take to take seas over the stern (especially
repeatedly).
(3) As “pooped”, a slang term expressing exhaustion
or fatigue; has been used as a noun in this context as “an old poop”.
(4) As “pooped out”, a slang term applied usually to
machinery which has failed.
(5) As “poop sheet”, military slang for information
updates circulated on paper; later adopted as “get the real poop” (get the true
facts on something).
(6) As a noun, excrement; as a verb, the act of
defecation, both described by most dictionaries as informal and often childish;
also recorded as a child’s expression of disappointment; was also used as a
euphemism for flatulence, apparently as a more polite replacement for the
earlier fart.
(7) As “party pooper”, a stupid, fussy, or boring
person.
(8) As onomatopoeia, to make a short blast on a horn.
Circa
1350: Origin uncertain but possibly from the Middle English powpen, popen & poupen (to make a gulping sound while drinking, blow on a horn,
toot) and perhaps influenced by the Dutch poepen
(to defecate) and the Low German pupen
(to fart; to break wind”); the English adoption of the latter sense dating from
1735–1745. The sense of information
began as the US Army slang “poop sheet” to refer to anything on paper,
distributed by the authorities, one of many ways soldiers had to disparage
military intelligence, this one comparing official documents to toilet paper,
presumably used. The sense of
“information collated on paper” continued in US journalism circles as “get the
poop” in the post-war years but was later displaced by other slang as
technology changed. “Party pooper” was first
recorded in 1910–1915 which some suggest is derived from nincompoop but not all
etymologists are convinced. The
sense from which the poop desk of ships evolved happened independently,
although in parallel with, the various onomatopoeic meanings. Dating from 1375-1425, it was from the Middle
English poupe & pope, from the Old French pope, poupe & pouppe, from the
Italian poppa, from the Vulgar Latin puppa, from the Classical Latin puppis, all meaning “stern of a ship”. All alternative spellings are long obsolete. Poop & pooping are nouns & verbs and pooped is a verb & adjective; the noun plural is poops.
A costal carpet python pooping.
In
humans and other animals, although the general principle remains (if not
exactly accurately) “What goes in, must
come out”, there are a number of variables involved in the parameters of
poop production, most obviously diet.
This coastal carpet python was seen on the Sunshine Coast in the state
of Queensland, Australia and experts in such things commented there was nothing
unusual in the behavior. As they
explained: “Carpet pythons will usually eat one big meal, such as a possum”,
the meal lasting “...a while as slowly it's digested..." whereas
“...smaller snakes, like tiger snakes, eat smaller prey like frogs. So they will relieve themselves more
regularly and with smaller stools.” Ophiologists (those dedicated to the study of snakes) note also that there's not of necessity any direct correlation between the size of a snake and the volume of their poop, factors such as diet, climate and age all influencing the outcome and observational studies in zoos have concluded that some snakes seem simply to prefer to poop more often than others. Now we know.
The
Poop Deck
In
naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck which forms the roof of a cabin or
other enclosure built in the aft (rear) of a ship’s superstructure. On larger vessels, the cabin was usually
called either the “poop cabin” or “navigation cabin”.
The
significance of the poop desk is that it was from here the ship was sailed; it
was for centuries the highest point of a ship’s main structure and so offered
the best visibility. The captain or
officer of the watch would from the poop desk instruct the helmsman how to
steer with the rudder and relay instructions to those trimming the sails, to
change both speed and direction. The
helmsman turned the rudder using a big wheel mounted on the quarter deck,
adjacent to and within earshot of the captain on the poop deck. The placement of poop and quarter decks was
dictated by the need for the wheel to be directly above the rudder’s controls
because there was no electronic or hydraulic assistance; movements of the wheel
acted on the rudder through a system of ropes and pulleys so distances between
the two had to be kept as short as possible.
On
modern, motorized ships, the navigational functions once directed from the poop
deck have been moved to the bridge, usually located towards the bow (front). Poop desks still exist on some naval and
commercial vessels and it's not merely as a term of naval architecture because many ships (such a tankers and other bulk carriers) continue to be constructed with the bridge located in the stern area. There's no longer the need for the bridge to be so close to the rudder but the older architecture is used to maximize the space available for cargo. On larger pleasure craft such as the big yachts billionaires like, the poop deck is usually allocated variously as a viewing area (sometimes with a diving platform), an entertainment space or a helicopter pad.
Lindsay Lohan on the poop deck of a yacht cruising of the coast of Sardinia, July 2016.
Poop porn: A scorpion having a poop.
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