dapper

English

Etymology

From Middle English daper (“pretty, neat”), from Middle Dutch dapper (“stalwart, nimble”), Old Dutch *dapar, from Proto-Germanic *dapraz (“stout; solid; 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^(key): /ˈdæpə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æpə(ɹ)

Adjective

dapper (comparative dapperer, superlative dapperest)

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.

3. Quick; little and active.

Derived terms

• Dapper Dan
• dapperling
• dapperly
• dapperness
• undapper

 

Translations

neat, trim

• Bulgarian: спретнат (bg) (spretnat)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 整せい潔きよし俐落／整せい洁俐落 (zhěngjié lìluò)

• Finnish: huoliteltu (fi)
• French: fringant (fr) m, sémillant (fr) m
• Galician: atilado m, relambido m, nidio m, desenxovallado m
• Irish: pioctha
• Russian: опря́тный (ru) (oprjátnyj), аккура́тный (ru) (akkurátnyj)
• Spanish: pulcro (es), atildado (es)

stylishly or neatly dressed

• Bulgarian: докаран (bg) (dokaran), елегантен (bg) (eleganten)
• Catalan: elegant (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 端はし莊そう企くわだて理り／端はし庄しょう企くわだて理り

  Mandarin: 衣冠いかん楚楚そそ (zh) (yīguānchǔchǔ), 穿ほじ著しる考究こうきゅう (chuānzhuó kǎojiu)

• Czech: úhledný (cs), elegantní, upravený (cs), nastrojený
• Dutch: stijlvol (nl), elegant (nl), chic (nl) m
• Finnish: huoliteltu (fi)
• French: chic (fr)
• Galician: aposto (gl) m, aroso m, bemposto m, farfantón m
• Irish: pioctha
• Italian: elegante (it)
• Japanese: お洒落しゃれ (ja) (おしゃれ, oshare)
• Polish: elegancki (pl) m, szykowny (pl) m
• Portuguese: elegante (pt)
• Russian: щеголеватый (ru) (ščegolevatyj), элега́нтный (ru) (elegántnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: spaideil
• Spanish: apuesto (es), gallardo (es), elegante (es)
• Swedish: elegant (sv)

quick and active

• Bulgarian: подвижен (bg) (podvižen), енергичен (bg) (energičen)

Anagrams

• Eppard, adprep, parped, rapped

Afrikaans

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

dapper (attributive dapper, comparative dapperder, superlative dapperste)

1. brave, courageous

Derived terms

• dapperheid

Dutch

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɑ.pər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: dap‧per
• Rhymes: -ɑpər

Adjective

dapper (comparative dapperder, superlative dapperst)

1. brave, courageous

Declension

Declension of dapper
uninflected	dapper
inflected	dappere
comparative	dapperder
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		dapper	dapperder	het dapperst het dapperste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	dappere	dapperdere	dapperste
	n. sing.	dapper	dapperder	dapperste
	plural	dappere	dapperdere	dapperste
definite		dappere	dapperdere	dapperste
partitive		dappers	dapperders	—

Derived terms

• dapperheid
• verdapperen

Descendants

• Afrikaans: dapper
• Negerhollands: tapper

References

• van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “dapper”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute