n. a potential victim of a confidence trick; a patsy. : The crooks found a good dupe and started their scheme.
tv. to trick someone; to swindle someone. : I did not try to dupe you. It was an honest mistake.
n. a duplicate; a copy. : I've got a dupe in the files.
tv. to duplicate something; to copy something. : Just a minute, I have to dupe a contract for the boss.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History
dupe (n.)
1681, from Fr. dupe "deceived person," from M.Fr. duppe (1426), thieves' jargon, probably from phrase de huppe "of the hoopoe," an extravagantly crested and reputedly stupid bird. Bird name is from L. upupa, imitative of its cry. The verb is from 1704.