Link Centre Dictionary

chipper

chip·per

UK/ˈtʃɪpə/ US/ˈt͡ʃɪpɚ/ uncommon slang uk us

adjective

1.

having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air

  • “looking chipper, like a man...diverted by his own wit” Frances G. Patton
  • “life that is gay, brisk, and debonair” H.M.Reynolds
  • “walked with a jaunty step”
  • “a jaunty optimist”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From English dialectal kipper (“nimble; frisky”), of obscure origin. Perhaps akin to Old Norse kjapt (“briskly; impetuously”), kippa ("to snatch; pull; jerk" > Middle English kippen (“to seize”)), kipra (“to wrinkle; draw tightly”), Norwegian kjapp (“fast; brisk”), Dutch kippen (“to seize; catch; grip”). More at kip.

Phrases

  • bread chipper

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.