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: 整潔俐落／整洁俐落 (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: 端莊企理／端庄企理

  Mandarin: 衣冠楚楚 (zh) (yīguānchǔchǔ), 穿著考究 (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 (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

Inflection

Inflection of dapper

	predicative	attributive	independent		partitive
			singular	plural
positive	dapper		dappere	dapperes	dappers
comparative	dapperder		dapperdere	dapperderes	dapperders
superlative	dapperste			dapperstes	—

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