Where does “mudpuppy” come from?

mudpuppy (English) comes from English puppy, from English puppie, from Middle French poupée, from Old French poupée, from Latin pupa, from Latin pupus, from Proto-Indo-European peh₂w- — few, little; smallness.

mudpuppy (English): An aquatic salamander of the family Proteidae

Definitions

  1. An aquatic salamander of the family Proteidae

Ancestry of “mudpuppy”, step by step

mudpuppy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English puppy

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpuppyA young dog, especially before sexual maturity; A...
2EnglishpuppieObsolete form of puppy
3Middle Frenchpoupéedoll, toy
4Old Frenchpoupée
5Latinpupagirl, little girl; doll, puppet; pupa
6Latinpupusa boy, a child; a puppet; the pupil of the eye
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂w-few, little; smallness

via English MUD

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMUDAcronym of multi-user dungeon: an interactive...
2DutchmudAn old measure of volume, varying in content over...
3Middle Dutchmudde
4Latinmodiusmodius, a unit of dry measure of about a peck or...
5Latinmodusmeasure
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmēd-to measure
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmed-to measure; to give advice; healing
Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₂w-Every word from Latin pupusEvery word from Latin pupa