poop deck cont.

[Dale Haggstrom <FTSLH@AURORA.ALASKA.EDU>]

all my files put away.  Here are the results of the target.  (sorry about
split mesages.  On pine I have to hit control x to send on this vax two
returns does it and when I hit the key to hard it sends a double return
which sends the message.  Here is the hits:
I will abreviate and combine to keep short.  latin word for doll became
the word poop.  In Origins 1966 poop meant break wind while today it
means feces.  In Origins poop comes from Medieval French (pope)
derives from Latin (puppis  "the stern of a ship"  Another entry in
Origins states poop2--to toot, gulp, break wind--comes from Medieval
English (poupen) to bubble.  The poop deck of a ship is the raised portion
of the ship. One person said that in Gary paulsen's novel "The voyage of
the frog" he tells us that the end of the boat was for "pooping".  The word
comes from latin meaning stern therefore the poop deck was the aftermost
and usually the highest deck.  They thought it had nothing to do with bath
rooms.  Another said the stern is where the poop deck is while the "head" is the
  bathroom at head of the ship (in the bow). From Funk and Wagnals 1963:
short deck built over the after part of the spar deck of a vessel;
hence, generally, the stern of a vessel  from French poupe and Latin puppis. Als
 o
an Astronomical term: the constellation Puppis.  Another person said 'poop'--
perhaps an italic confusion of Egyption 'pehui', the stern of a boat, and
Egyption 'tepi' the hindmost part of a boat's stern. p. 511, Origins.  Another
said it is the place the waves hit hardest on the stern of a ship.  Midship with
  the crew
members hanging over the side holding onto a special spar.  The midship is
more balanced. ( I have heard this to be true).
Bill Sears had a long response  that sort of took everything above and made
sense of it:  "In my time in the Navy I was privilidged to write curriculum for
New members of a Navy Intelligence Command.  The first module of the training
session was on Navy customs.  I had to research that very question.
I have researched several eplainations that seem to merge with time.  First
 to get pooped in sailing is to get a wave to wash over the stern (back end of
the ship) and sink the ship.  Older ships covered the stern so this would not
happen.  Most 16th/17th century ships were built with poops.  The dictionary
says poop deck is a weather deck on top of a poop and a poop is a superstructure
at the stern of a vessel.
Second, in ancient times sailors would carry a representation of their gods at
the stern of the ship.  Some of these representations were statutes of gods or
dolls.  In German a doll is called a pupe plural pupen.  Ancient sailers when
coming aboard a ship would face the gods (stern) and pay hmage.  Sailers today
salute the Ensign, when boarding a ship, which is a flago or banner used to
indicate nationality located at the stern, off the poop deck.  I believe the old
 er
explanation about the gods or dolls enitiated the term and then was expanded to
mean a negative sinking of a ship by a following wave.  Therefore the negative
conotation to be pooped on (sinking a ship from behind or a wave moving
faster than you are moving).  Then to stop this from happening to build a poop
reflector.  To make sure this all worked, one put his god (doll/statute)
on top of this deflector.  ......a representation of your country goes where the
was."  My husband suggested that sailors did use this end of the ship to hang
over for bathroom purposes so the waves could wash it off.
Ask a question and you get a wonderful range and weath ofanswers.  The
teacher appreciated everyones responses and I learned something new. Thanks
again.  Sandy Haggstrom ftslh
@aurora.alaska.edu