What is the Origin of the word Poopdeck

[richardland]

I know it is a sailing term, but from where does it originate?

[Big Al1st]

One possibility

Poop Deck
A ship's afterdeck received its name from the old Roman custom of carrying Pupi (small images of their gods) in the stern of their ships for luck.

[Big Al1st]

And again

Furthermore, one wonders why your civics teacher never looked up "poop deck" in a dictionary, because the origin is quite straightforward. The "poop" deck on a sailing ship is the aftmost deck at the ship's stern, and takes its name directly from the Latin "puppis," meaning "stern."

The origin of "poop" meaning inside information is, unfortunately, unknown, making it difficult to establish a linkage to the "poop deck" of a ship. That this "information" sense only appeared in print in the 1940's, long after the age of sail, would tend to argue strongly against such a link.

[richardland]

Thanks for your answers