Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of toper

toper(n.)

"heavy drinker," 1670s, agent noun from tope (v.).

also from 1670s

Entries linking to toper

tope(v.)

"to drink heavily," 1650s, a word of unknown origin, perhaps (via French?) from Italian toppa "done!" a word signifying acceptance of a bet. The Romanic word is from a Germanic verb related to tap (v.1); compare Italian toppare "patch," Spanish toper "bump." The notion in betting might be striking hands to seal the bet.

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trends of toper

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    sot
    late Old English sott "stupid person, fool," a sense now obsolete, from Old French sot, from Gallo-Roman *sott- (probably related to Medieval Latin sottus), a word of uncertain origin, with cognates from Portugal to Germany. The surviving English meaning "one who is stupefied wit
    Tso
    in Chinese restaurant dishes, a reference to General Tso Tsungtang (1812-1885), military leader during the late Qing dynasty who crushed the Taiping rebels in four provinces. The chicken dish that bears his name (for no apparent reason) in Chinese restaurants apparently is modifi
    inebriate
    late 15c., from Latin inebriatus, past participle of inebriare "to make drunk," from in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") + ebriare "make drunk," from ebrius "drunk," probably from PIE root *hegwh- "to drink." Related: Inebriated; inebriating. Also used in 19c. English were inebriac
    consumer
    early 15c., "one who squanders or wastes," agent noun from consume. In economics, "one who uses up goods or articles, one who destroys the exchangeable value of a commodity by using it" (opposite of producer), from 1745. Consumer goods is attested from 1890. In U.S., consumer pri
    design
    late 14c., "to make, shape," ultimately from Latin designare "mark out, point out; devise; choose, designate, appoint," from de "out" (see de-) + signare "to mark," from signum "identifying mark, sign" (see sign (n.)). The Italian verb disegnare in 16c. developed the senses "to c
    Vatican
    1550s, from Latin mons Vaticanus, Roman hill on which Papal palace stands. By Klein's sources said to be an Etruscan loan-word and unrelated to vates "soothsayer, prophet, seer" (see vates), but most others seem to think it is related, on the notion of "hill of prophecy" (compare
    plantation
    mid-15c., plantacioun, "action of planting (seeds, etc.)," a sense now obsolete, from Latin plantationem (nominative plantatio) "a planting," noun of action from past-participle stem of *plantare "to plant" (see plant (n.)). From c. 1600 as "introduction, establishment." From 158
    charity
    late Old English, "benevolence for the poor," also "Christian love in its highest manifestation," from Old French charité "(Christian) charity, mercy, compassion; alms; charitable foundation" (12c.), from Latin caritatem (nominative caritas) "costliness; esteem, affection," from
    Elohim
    a name of God in the Bible, c. 1600, from Hebrew, plural (of majesty?) of Eloh "God" (cognate with Allah), a word of unknown etymology, perhaps an augmentation of El "God," also of unknown origin. Generally taken as singular, the use of this word instead of Yahveh is taken by bib
    dystopia
    "imaginary bad place," 1952, from dys- "bad, abnormal" + ending abstracted from utopia. Earlier in medical use, "displacement of an organ" (by 1844), with second element from Greek topos "place" (see topos). Dystopian was used in the non-medical sense in 1868 by J.S. Mill: I may

    Share toper

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trending
    Dictionary entries near toper
    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.