Young dogs, or affectionate term for young people, or short for puppets.
Short for 'puppet' or 'puppy,' which comes from Old French 'popee' (doll, puppet). The word 'puppy' came to mean young dog in the 1500s.
Sea lions, seals, and even kangaroos have 'pups'—it's not just dogs—and the word shows how English borrows animal terms across species!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.