caper

[ key-per ]

/ ˈkeɪ pər /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caper ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to leap or skip about in a sprightly manner; prance; frisk; gambol.

noun

a playful leap or skip.

a prank or trick; harebrained escapade.

a frivolous, carefree episode or activity.

Slang. a criminal or illegal act, as a burglary or robbery.

Nearby words

Idioms

cut a caper. cut(def 84).

Origin of caper

1585–95; figurative use of Latin caper he-goat (cognate with Old English hæfer, Old Norse hafr, Old Irish caera sheep < a West IE term *kap-(e)ro- for a domesticated smaller animal); for the meaning, cf. dog (v.)

SYNONYMS FOR caper

3. stunt, antic, shenanigans. 4. spree, frolic.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caper ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsca·per·er, nounca·per·ing·ly, adverbun·ca·per·ing, adjective

caper

[ key-per ]

/ ˈkeɪ pər /

noun

a spiny shrub, Capparis spinosa, of Mediterranean regions, having roundish leaves and solitary white flowers.

its flower bud, which is pickled and used for garnish or seasoning.

Compare caper family.

Origin of caper

1350–1400; back formation from capers (taken for plural), Middle English caperes < Latin capparis < Greek kápparis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for caper

I sought them out and mapped out what a true-to-life 21st-century caper would look like at the most powerful bank in capitalism.
Book Bag: The Best Heists in Fact, Film, and Fiction|Matthew Quirk|June 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For instance, Antonio Reyna met English in a McAllen bar the night before the caper and somehow wound up in the van the next day.
The Border’s Merry Pranksters|Bryan Curtis|June 30, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A week after the caper, Brian Wedgworth, the lookout, went back to the border wall.
The Border’s Merry Pranksters|Bryan Curtis|June 30, 2011|DAILY BEAST
What is fact regarding the U.S. version is that it started off as a North by Northwest-style caper for Tom Cruise.
Why The Tourist Bombed|Nicole LaPorte|January 13, 2011|DAILY BEAST

They followed their first film with the James Bond-ish caper Help!
11 On-Screen Portrayals of the Beatles|Sujay Kumar|October 7, 2010|DAILY BEAST
He would sit watching Nanny nibbling with her front teeth the capers of the caper sauce, and he would hate her.
Sinister Street, vol. 1|Compton Mackenzie
Caper, learning that she was a widow, did not know but what her affections were straying his way.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2 No 4, October, 1862|Various
During the two hours that Caper and Rocjean studied the scenery, guard was relieved four times.
Continental Monthly, Vol. I, No. V, May, 1862|Various
In one of these parties, an Indian, hearing the family speak Welsh, began to jump and caper as if he had been out of his senses.
America Discovered by the Welsh in 1170 A.D.|Benjamin Franklin Bowen
Rocjean came into Caper's studio one morning, evidently having something to communicate.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No 3, September, 1862|Various

British Dictionary definitions for caper

caper

/ (ˈkeɪpə) /

noun

a playful skip or leap

a high-spirited escapade

cut a caper or cut capers

to skip or jump playfully
to act or behave playfully; frolic

slang a crime, esp an organized robbery

Australian informal a job or occupation

Australian informal a person's behaviour

verb

(intr) to leap or dance about in a light-hearted manner

Derived Formscaperer, nouncaperingly, adverb

Word Origin for caper

C16: probably from capriole

noun

a spiny trailing Mediterranean capparidaceous shrub, Capparis spinosa, with edible flower buds

any of various similar plants or their edible partsSee also bean caper, capers

Word Origin for caper

C15: from earlier capers, capres (assumed to be plural), from Latin capparis, from Greek kapparis

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for caper

caper

1580s, apparently short for obsolete capriole "to leap, skip," probably from Italian capriolare "jump in the air" (see cab). Related: Capered; capering.

caper

n.1

type of prickly Mediterranean bush, also in reference to the plant's edible buds, late 14c., from Latin capparis (source of Italian cappero, French câpre, German Kaper), from Greek kapparis "the caper plant or its fruit," of uncertain origin. Arabic kabbar, Persian kabar are from Greek. Perhaps reborrowed into English 16c. The final -s was mistaken for a plural inflection in English and dropped.

n.2

by 1590s, "playful leap or jump," from caper (v.); meaning "prank" is from 1840; that of "crime" is from 1926. To cut capers "dance in a frolicsome way" is from c.1600.

caper

verb (used without object)

noun

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Origin of caper

caper

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Origin of caper

Examples from the Web for caper

caper

noun

verb

Word Origin for caper

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Word Origin for caper

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