Duped

/ˈduːpt/ verb

Definition

Tricked or fooled into believing something false; deceived by someone's lies or clever schemes.

Etymology

From French 'dupe,' possibly from a 17th-century bird called the 'dupe' (hoopoe) that was considered foolish or easily caught. The meaning shifted to mean any person easily fooled.

Kelly Says

The hoopoe bird connection reveals something fascinating about how insults travel through languages—in French this elegant bird became a symbol of stupidity, and that joke survived 400 years in English without most people knowing its origin!

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