What does doup mean?
Doup is a Scots and Northern English dialect noun meaning the bottom, rump, or rear end of a person or animal. Informal but not rude, it carries a homely, humorous tone that makes it a gentler alternative to blunter words like backside. A typical use might be someone slipping on ice and landing on their doup, or a parent telling a child to get off their doup and help. The word also has an older, largely historical sense referring to a candle stub — the burnt remnant left after a candle has burned down — which housekeepers once collected to be melted into new candles. Because it belongs to regional rather than standard English, doup is encountered mostly in Scottish writing and speech, where it adds colour and local flavour.
The bottom, rump, or rear end of a person or animal.
"He landed squarely on his doup after the chair gave way."
Informal and chiefly Scottish; humorous rather than offensive.
A candle stub; the burnt remnant of a candle.
"She saved every doup from the candles to make new ones."
Older Scottish usage, now largely historical.
Regular plural; common in the candle-stub sense when collecting multiple stubs.
"The servant swept the fallen doups from the floor."
In Scots, if you 'sit on your doup', you're sitting on your backside — and a burned-down candle stub was once called a doup too.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of doup
Doup is a Scots word, recorded from at least the early modern period in Scottish English. It likely derives from or is related to Middle Low German or Dutch forms denoting something deep or hollow, though its precise ultimate origin is uncertain. Its double application — to a person's rear and to a candle's burnt stub — reflects a common pattern by which dialect words name both body parts and small remnants.
How doup is actually used
Doup is informal and distinctly regional — a Scots and Northern English dialect word rather than standard English. It is mildly humorous but not obscene, making it gentler than many equivalents. The candle-stub sense is largely historical.
Easily confused with doup
Dope is slang for drugs, foolishness, or information, while doup is a dialect word for the bottom or rear end.