rapparee
Americannoun
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an armed Irish freebooter or plunderer, especially of the 17th century.
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any freebooter or robber.
noun
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an Irish irregular soldier of the late 17th century
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obsolete any plunderer or robber
Etymology
Origin of rapparee
First recorded in 1680–90, rapparee is from the Irish word rapaire
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No thimblerigging rapparee, No jobber in kidnappery No filcher I !
From Time Magazine Archive
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‘Yes, you rapparee; but didn’t you promise—or didn’t I promise for you, which is all one and the same thing—that you’d pay it all back with your prize-money—and where is it? answer that, Terence O’Brien.’
From Peter Simple by Marryat, Frederick
An advocate for absolute monarchy and church power; also an Irish vagabond, robber, Or rapparee.
From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Grose, Francis
This rapparee promised him mountains of wealth, and an English company was found to advance large sums of money—I fear on Sir Arthur's guarantee.
From The Antiquary — Volume 01 by Scott, Walter, Sir
Doing the rapparee and Rory of the hill.
From Ulysses by Joyce, James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.