dapper

English

Etymology

Middle English daper, from Middle Dutch dapper "stalwart, nimble", from Proto-Germanic *dapraz ‘heavy; bold’ (compare German tapfer "bold", Norwegian daper "saddened, dreary"), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeb- ‘thick, heavy’ (compare Tocharian A tpär ‘high’, Latvian dàbls ‘strong’, Serbo-Croatian дебео (dèbeo) ‘fat’).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈdæpə(ɹ)/ X-SAMPA: /d{p@(r\)/
• Rhymes: -æpə(r)

Adjective

dapper (comparative more dapper, superlative most dapper)

1. Neat, trim.
   • 1892, Henry Seton Merriman, The Slave Of The Lamp:

     This entrance is through a little courtyard, in which is the stable and coach-house combined, where Madame Perinere, a lady who paints the magic word "Modes" beneath her name on the door-post of number seventeen, keeps the dapper little cart and pony which carry her bonnets to the farthest corner of Paris.

2. Stylishly dressed, neatly dressed, spiffy.
   • 1917, P. G. Wodehouse, The Man With Two Left Feet:

     Going down the street, you would meet a typical commercial traveller, dapper and alert.

Derived terms

• Dapper Dan

Translations

neat, trim

• Bulgarian: спретнат (bg) (spretnat)
• Finnish: huoliteltu (fi)

• Russian: опрятный (ru) (oprjatnyj), аккуратный (ru) (akkuratnyj)
• Spanish: pulcro (es) m, atildado (es) m

stylishly or neatly dressed

• Bulgarian: докаран, елегантен
• Czech: úhledný (cs)
• Finnish: huoliteltu (fi)

• Japanese: お洒落 (ja) (おしゃれ, oshare)
• Russian: щеголеватый (ru) (ščegolevatyj), элегантный (ru) (elegantnyj)
• Spanish: apuesto (es)

Anagrams

• rapped

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Afrikaans

Adjective

dapper (comparative: dapperder, superlative: dapperste)

1. brave, courageous

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Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *dappar, from Proto-Germanic *dapraz.

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Adjective

dapper (comparative dapperder, superlative dapperst)

1. brave, courageous