kipper

1
[ kip-er ]
See synonyms for: kipperkippered on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a fish, especially a herring, that has been cured by splitting, salting, drying, and smoking.

  2. this method of curing fish.

  1. a male salmon during or after the spawning season.

verb (used with object)
  1. to cure (herring, salmon, etc.) by splitting, salting, drying and smoking.

Origin of kipper

1
before 1000; Middle English kypre,Old English cypera spawning salmon, apparently derivative of cyperen of copper, i.e., copper-colored

Words Nearby kipper

Other definitions for kipper (2 of 2)

kipper2
[ kip-er ]

nounAustralian Informal.
  1. a young Aboriginal male, usually 14 to 16 years old, who has recently undergone his tribal initiation rite.

Origin of kipper

2
First recorded in 1835–45, kipper is from the Wiradjuri word gibirr “man”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use kipper in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for kipper (1 of 3)

kipper1

/ (ˈkɪpə) /


noun
  1. a fish, esp a herring, that has been cleaned, salted, and smoked

  2. a male salmon during the spawning season

  1. Australian archaic, derogatory, slang an Englishman

verb
  1. (tr) to cure (a fish, esp a herring) by salting and smoking

Origin of kipper

1
Old English cypera, perhaps from coper copper 1; referring to its colour

British Dictionary definitions for kipper (2 of 3)

kipper2

/ (ˈkɪpə) /


noun
  1. a native Australian youth who has completed an initiation rite

Origin of kipper

2
from a native Australian language

British Dictionary definitions for kipper (3 of 3)

kipper3

/ (ˈkɪpə) /


noun
  1. informal an adult who cannot afford to move away from his or her parents' home

Origin of kipper

3
C21: from k (ids) i (n) p (arents') p (ockets) e (roding) r (etirement) (savings)

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