Dictionary

po-po en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈpoʊˈpoʊ/

Etymology

From various words by shortening and reduplication. The "posterior" sense may be reduplication of the initial syllable of that word, with modification of the vowel according to its spelling. Compare German Popo (“bottom”) from Latin pōdex (“anus”). The "police" sense may come from either the initial syllable of police or the initial letters of the words police officer. Compare PO.

Meanings

1. (US, informal) One's posterior, bottom, buttocks.
   • [He] gets jelly on his head, jelly on his po-po, jelly on his.... well, you know what rhymes with jelly. If your Junior starts singing this in public he’ll show you up. 1953, Gramophone Record Review, page 564:
   • He once asked me how a particular customer was doing, sometime after I had executed a sale. […] Then he added, so as not to appear to be admonishing me, “Go and give them a pat on the po-po and see what is going on.” 2014, Michael Hotchkiss, Preparation Breeds Success, page 61:
   • Feet up, pat him on the po-po Let’s hear him laugh Ain’t seen a babe like this before He’s so good-lookin’, gonna have some more Feet up, pat him on the po-po 1952, Bob Merrill, “Feet Up (Pat Him on the Po-Po)”:
2. (childish) Genitals, especially the vulva.
   • On one Monday morning, one of the two children, Becky, complained about irritation around her “po-po.” […] This child indicated that Daddy had touched her there and she cried when he pushed on her sore spot. 1991, Kevin McGovern, “Was there really child sexual abuse or is there another explanation?”, in Michael Robin, editor, Assessing Child Maltreatment Reports: The Problem of False Allegations, page 123:
   • “Actually I prefer kids referring to their po-pos rather than their outer labias. Maybe I’m just old fashioned.” 1962, Phillip Roth, Letting Go, page 269:
   • “If you tell anyone what happens in this house, HRS will take you away. Do you understand? They’ll put you with people that will hurt your po-po.” I broke out in a sweat. Po-po was Mom’s word for between my legs. 2011, Tara Overzat, Reverse Psychology, pages 8-9:
   • By contrast, a North Carolina court upheld the conviction of a father after a four-year-old, who had told relatives and authorities that her father had put his “ding dong” into her “po po,” pointed to a doll vagina and a doll penis and used the same terms to describe the alleged event. 1992, Richard Green, Sexual Science and the Law, page 163:
3. (US, colloquial, derogatory, mildly) The police; a police officer.
   • Runnin’ from the po-po Runnin’ Just got my cash on Now I gotta get my dash on 1997, Rik ‘G’, “Runnin’ From the Po Po” (0:23 from the start), in Rik ‘G’, Oakland, CA: Del Paso Heights:
   • Yo, po-po, man. Shut it down. 2006 September 10, David Simon & al., “Boys of Summer” (00:23:44 from the start), in The Wire, season 4, episode 1:
   • “Shit,” Brian breathed. “Who called the po-po?” 2012, Liz Talley, Under the Autumn Sky, page 151:
   • The cops had busted us for selling hot designer bags up on Utica Avenue for some cat who figured we was too young to get knocked if we got caught, but two fat white po-pos said fuck how young we was, and threw us in a cell for damn near three days until they could contact Noojie to come get us out. 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 134:
4. (broadly) A prison officer, corrections officer, prison guard.

Forms

Descendants

popo

Synonyms

heinie · sit upon · hurdies · bum cheeks · fourth point of contact · bottom · caboose · glutes · moon · rump · seat · gooseberry-grinder · jacksie · gluteus maximus · butt cheeks · cheeks · hiney · hinderlin · posterior · nates · ass cheeks · ass · arse · bum · behind · peach · tush · backside · derriere · toches · booty · tail · gyatt · nether cheeks · botty · butt · rear · buttocks · moneymaker · keester · batty · dicky · back · keister · tushie · blessed assurance · 'tocks · fanny · patootie · rear end · arse cheeks · buns · postern

po-po en · NOUN · etymology 2

Etymology

From Chinese; see po po.

Meanings

1. (alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of po po (“mother-in-law; grandmother”).
   alt of po po

Forms