Seppo

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From septic tank (“rhyming slang for Yank”) +‎ -o (“colloquialising suffix”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛpəʊ

Noun[edit]

Seppo (plural Seppos)

1. (UK, Australia, New Zealand, rhyming slang) An American.
   • 2010, Emily Maguire, Smoke in the Room, page 17,

     ‘So, Adam, you have the privilege of being my first Seppo.’

     ‘Your first what?’

     ‘Seppo. You′ve gotta learn to speak Aussie, man. You′re a Yank, so –’

     ‘No, not a Yankee. I′m from –’

     ‘The You Ess Ay. Makes you a Yank. Yank rhymes with septic tank. But we like to shorten names and then add an O at the end - but only if we like you. So Yank is kind of neutral. Septic tank is rude. But Seppo, well, it′s affectionate. Get it?’

     ‘No.’

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:American

Anagrams[edit]

• Popes, peops, pepos, popes, soppe

Finnish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From seppo (“smith, skillful person”), an epithet of the smith Ilmarinen in the Kalevala. Compare Aino.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈsepːo/, [ˈs̠e̞pːo̞]
• Rhymes: -epːo
• Syllabification^(key): Sep‧po

Proper noun[edit]

Seppo

1. a male given name
   • 1974, Alpo Ruuth, Kotimaa, Tammi, →ISBN, page 167:

     Kun meidän esikoinen syntyi, niille annettiin nimeksi Seppo ja Pekka ja Tauno.

     Back when we had our eldest sons, they would be named Seppo and Pekka and Tauno.

   • 1999, Juhani Syrjä, Juho, Gummerus 2008, →ISBN, Juho 19-33, page 182:

     Tukevalle ja isokouraiselle pojalle annoimme nimeksi Seppo.

     We named the sturdy and big-handed boy Seppo.

Usage notes[edit]

• Popular in the 1940s and the 1950s, often in the combination Seppo Ilmari.

Declension[edit]