old chap

noun

Chiefly British: Older Use.

1. (used in informal direct address to a man of any age.)

Word History and Origins

Origin of old chap¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

"You could join in, old chap," Laszlo generously offers, further enticing Nandor with a gentlemanly, "Room at the back!"

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On the occasion of a Rousseau retrospective at London’s Tate Modern in 2005, artist Dexter Dalwood made the point that Rousseau “wasn’t just this gentle, simple old chap … who spent his Sundays painting. … He was quite wily and difficult; he drank a lot and got into problems with money. He received a two-year suspended sentence for bank fraud. There was a lot more of the ‘street’ in him than some would like to believe.”

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And the dear old home-voice answered, “Which it air, old chap.”

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“Which dear old Pip, old chap,” said Joe, “you and me was ever friends. And when you’re well enough to go out for a ride—what larks!”

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“Which you meantersay, Pip, how long have your illness lasted, dear old chap?”

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