Adjacent Words

Caper definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CAPER, v.i. To leap; to skip or jump; to prance; to spring.
CAPER, n. A leap; a skip; a spring; as in dancing or mirth, or in the frolick of a goat or lamb.
CAPER, n. The bud of the caper-bush, which is much used for pickling. The buds are collected before the flowers expand, and preserved in vinegar. The bush is a low shrub, generally growing from the joints of old walls, from fissures in rocks and amongst rubbish, in the southern parts of Europe.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any of numerous plants of the genus Capparis
2: pickled flower buds used as a pungent relish in various dishes and sauces
3: a crime (especially a robbery); "the gang pulled off a bank job in St. Louis" [syn: caper, job]
4: a playful leap or hop [syn: caper, capriole]
5: gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement; "it was all done in play"; "their frolic in the surf threatened to become ugly" [syn: play, frolic, romp, gambol, caper]
6: a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement [syn: antic, joke, prank, trick, caper, put-on] v
1: jump about playfully

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: back-formation from earlier capers (taken as a plural), from Middle English caperis, from Latin capparis, from Greek kapparis Date: 14th century 1. any of a genus (Capparis of the family Capparidaceae, the caper family) of low prickly shrubs of the Mediterranean region; especially one (C. spinosa) cultivated for its buds 2. one of the greenish flower buds or young berries of the caper pickled and used as a seasoning or garnish II. intransitive verb (capered; capering) Etymology: probably by shortening & alteration from capriole Date: 1588 to leap or prance about in a playful manner III. noun Date: 1592 1. a frolicsome leap 2. a capricious escapade ; prank 3. an illegal or questionable act; especially theft

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v.intr. jump or run about playfully. --n. 1 a playful jump or leap. 2 a a fantastic proceeding; a prank. b sl. any activity or occupation. Phrases and idioms: cut a caper (or capers) act friskily. Derivatives: caperer n. Etymology: abbr. of CAPRIOLE 2. n. 1 a bramble-like S. European shrub, Capparis spinosa. 2 (in pl.) its flower buds cooked and pickled for use as flavouring esp. for a savoury sauce. Etymology: ME capres & F câpres f. L capparis f. Gk kapparis, treated as pl.: cf. CHERRY, PEA

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Caper Ca"per, n. [F. c[^a]pre, fr. L. capparis, Gr. ?; cf. Ar. & Per. al-kabar.] 1. The pungent grayish green flower bud of the European and Oriental caper (Capparis spinosa), much used for pickles. 2. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Capparis; -- called also caper bush, caper tree. Note: The Capparis spinosa is a low prickly shrub of the Mediterranean coasts, with trailing branches and brilliant flowers; -- cultivated in the south of Europe for its buds. The C. sodada is an almost leafless spiny shrub of central Africa (Soudan), Arabia, and southern India, with edible berries. Bean caper. See Bran caper, in the Vocabulary. Caper sauce, a kind of sauce or catchup made of capers.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Caper Ca"per, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Capered p. pr. & vb. n. capering.] [From older capreoll to caper, cf. F. se cabrer to prance; all ultimately fr. L. caper, capra, goat. See Capriole.] To leap or jump about in a sprightly manner; to cut capers; to skip; to spring; to prance; to dance. He capers, he dances, he has eyes of youth. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Caper Ca"per, n. A frolicsome leap or spring; a skip; a jump, as in mirth or dancing; a prank. To cut a caper, to frolic; to make a sportive spring; to play a prank. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Caper Ca"per, n. [D. kaper.] A vessel formerly used by the Dutch, privateer. --Wright.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(capers, capering, capered) 1. Capers are the small green buds of caper plants. They are usually sold preserved in vinegar. N-COUNT: usu pl 2. If you caper about, you run and jump around because you are happy or excited. They were capering about, shouting and laughing... VERB: V adv/prep

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. Leap (in a frolicsome mood), hop, skip, jump, bound, romp, gambol, frisk, dance. II. n. Leap (in a frolicsome mood), skip, hop, spring, bound, gambol, romp, prank, freak.

Foolish Dictionary

A foot in the air.

Moby Thesaurus

antic, beam, bob, bounce, burglary, capriole, caracole, carol, carry on, cavort, chirp, chirrup, clap hands, crime, curvet, cut a dido, cut capers, cut up, dance, delight, devilment, dido, disport, escapade, exult, falcade, filch, flounce, fool around, frisk, frolic, gambade, gambado, gambol, glory, glow, grab, heist, high jinks, hop, horse around, impishness, job, joy, jubilate, jump, jump about, lark, laugh, leap, lift, lilt, mischief, monkeyshine, monkeyshines, pinch, play, practical joke, prance, prank, radiate cheer, ramp, rejoice, revel, rip-off, robbery, roguery, rollick, romp, shenanigan, shenanigans, shines, sing, skip, skip for joy, smile, sparkle, sport, spring, steal, stunt, theft, tomfoolery, trick, trip, waggish trick, waggishness, whistle