dapper
UK /ˈdæpə/ · US /ˈdæpəɹ/ adjective, noun
Forms dapperer dapperest dappers
- adjective Neat, trim.
- adjective Stylishly dressed, neatly dressed, spiffy.
- adjective Quick; little and active.
- noun (UK, dialect) A plimsoll.
Synonyms
dap dashing jaunty natty raffish rakish spiffy snappy spruce
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’).
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [OE. daper; prob. fr. D. dapper brave, valiant; akin to G. tapfer brave, OHG. taphar heavy, weighty, OSlav. dobrû good, Russ. dobrui. Cf. Deft.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “dapper”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details