nippern.¹

Brit.

/ˈnɪpə/, U.S.

/ˈnɪpər/

Forms: 1500s–1700s nypper, 1500s– nipper, 1700s (1900s– English regional (Suffolk)) knipper.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: nip v.¹, -er suffix¹.

Etymology: < nip v.¹ + -er suffix¹.

I. Something which nips.

a. A person, animal, etc., that nips (in various senses of nip v.¹).Sometimes with prefixed word specifying the object, etc., nipped.In early use, in citations or echoes of Isaiah 50:5.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > [noun] > contemptuous person > by gesture

nipper1535

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > [noun] > one who or that which damages

spulyierc1475

marrerc1500

maimer1530

hinderer1532

nipper1535

mangler1561

spoiler1577

truncator1579

batterer1611

spoil?1611

mauler1618

wrecker1882

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. l. B I offre my backe vnto y^e smyters, and my chees[sic] to the nyppers.

a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 30 Ready bakbiters, sore nippers, and spitefull reporters priuilie of good men.

1611 A. Stafford Niobe 93 Thou nipper of mirth, thou vnpleasant toyle.

1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 6 Cold [is] the great enemie and nipper of vegetation.

1661 Bp. J. Taylor Serm. at Opening Parl. Irel. 8 May [Jesus] gave his back to the smiters and his cheeks to the nippers.

1952 G. F. Hervey & J. Hems Freshwater Trop. Aquarium Fishes 276 Members of this genus are pugnacious by nature, incorrigible fin-nippers, and not particularly attractive in appearance.

1999 Providence (Rhode Island) Jrnl.-Bull. (Nexis) 16 Mar. 6 c ‘She's a nipper,’ he says, ‘likes to bite. She can be vicious.’

b. Newfoundland. A large mosquito. Cf. gallinipper n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Nematocera > family Culicidae > member of (gnat or mosquito) > large

gallinipper1801

nipper1819

1663 J. Yonge Jrnl. (1963) (modernized text) 60 In July, the muscetos (a little biting fly) and garnippers (a larger one) will much vex us.]

1819 in J. Hewson Beothuk Vocabularies (1978) 46 Nipper, bebadrook.

1822 J. Nicol Life & Adventures ii. 26 In the summer I was much annoyed by the mosquitos and yellow nippers, a worse fly.

1854 E. Feild Jrnl. Bp. Newfoundland's Voy. 70 The title or name [sc. Nipper's Harbour] is rather an alarming one, particularly to thin skinned Southerners, as the Nipper is the largest and most formidable of the mosquitoes.

1861 Harper's Mag. May 744/2 Mercy! who ever saw the flies and nippers so bad as they!

1913 W. S. Thomas Trails & Tramps in Alaska & Newfoundland 191 All day long the black flies made our lives miserable, and as night approached the ‘nippers’ took their place.

1993 Newfoundland Sportsman Winter 8/1 Between me and the tools of my trade are zillions of the largest and most voracious nippers ever created. Surely, God was angry at man when he made Labrador mosquitos.

c. Australian. Any of various burrowing marine prawns (order Decapoda, infraorder Thalassinidea) widely used as fishing bait. Also called yabby.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > subclass Malacostraca > division Thoracostraca > order Decapoda > miscellaneous types of

butterfly lobster1880

nipper1882

cup-shrimp1911

1882 J. E. Tenison-Woods Fish & Fisheries New S. Wales 126 Alphaeus socialis..locally named the ‘Nipper’, is..a good deal sought for, but not so much for food as for bait for black bream fishing.

1895 C. Thackeray Amateur Fisherman's Guide 82 Raw prawns and nippers are the best baits.

1952 W. J. Dakin Austral. Seashores 174 Sometimes called nippers or ghost-nippers by fishermen who use them as bait, and they are yabbies to Queenslanders.

1983 Fishing Information & Services Handbk. 76 The top baits..would naturally include..nippers, harbour prawns.

d. U.S. regional. The cunner, Tautogolabrus adspersus (family Labridae), of the north west Atlantic. Cf. nibbler n. 2a. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Labrioidei (wrasse) > [noun] > family Labridae > tautog

tautog1750

blackfish1842

oysterfish1855

nipper1884

1884 G. B. Goode in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 273 At Salem they [sc. the Blue Perch] are called ‘Nippers’, and occasionally here and elsewhere ‘Bait-stealers’.

1911 Rep. Comm. U.S. Bureau Fisheries 1908 308 Chogset (Tautogolabrus adspersus).—This fish..is also called..‘nippers’.

2. A mean or miserly person. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [noun] > niggard or mean person

nithinga1225

chinch?a1300

nigc1300

chincher1333

shut-purse1340

niggardc1384

haynec1386

nigona1400

pinchera1425

pinchpenny?c1425

pynepenya1450

pelt1511

chincherda1529

churl1535

pinchbeck1538

carl?1542

penny-father1549

nipfarthing1566

nipper?1573

holdfast1576

pinchpence1577

pinch fistc1580

pinchfart1592

shit-sticks1598

clunchfist1606

puckfist1606

sharp-nose1611

spare-good1611

crib1622

hog grubber?1626

dry-fist1633

clusterfist1652

niggardling1654

frummer1659

scrat1699

sting-hum1699

nipcheese1785

pincha1825

screw1825

wire-drawer1828

close-fist1861

penny-pincher1875

nip-skin1876

parer1887

pinch-plum1892

cheapskate1899

meanie1902

tightwad1906

stinge1914

penny-peeler1925

mean1938

stiff1967

?1573 L. Lloyd Pilgrimage of Princes 16 Amongst so many nippers of money, he onely shewed himself bountifull and liberall.

1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 63 The noant Margery's a nipper.

1853 J. Fraser Poet. Chimes 183 E'en though lank puirith to be a nipper, you should be vauntie.

1877 F. Ross et al. Gloss. E. Riding Yorks. 100/2 Nipper, a greedy, niggardly person.

1879 F. W. Robinson Coward Conscience ii. xiii That old, disagreeable nipper of a cousin of yours.

1911 A. Warrack Scots Dial. Dict. 310/2 Nipper, a niggard.

†3. slang. Originally: a stealer of purses, etc. (see nip v.¹ 7b). Later (more generally): a thief; (also) a swindler. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > pickpocket or cutpurse > [noun]

pickpursec1385

pursepick?a1513

purse-picker1549

nipper1585

nip1591

purser1640

1585 W. Fleetwood in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. II. 278 He that could take a peece of sylver out of the purse without the noyse of any of the bells, he was adjudged a judiciall Nypper.

1592 R. Greene Thirde Pt. Conny-catching sig. D4 This fellow he had heard to bee one of the finest Nippers about the towne.

a1640 J. Day & H. Chettle Blind-beggar (1659) sig. C2^v Your nipper, your foyst, your rogue, your cheat, your pander.

1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Nypper, a cut purse, so called by one Wotton, who in the year 1585, kept an academy for the education..of pick-pockets.

a1859 L. Hunt Coll. Wks. (1860) 156 Thou art his privy nipper, thou old thief.

1886 P. D. Haywood Cruise of Alabama 68 All trade in Kingston is in the hands of these people, and nippers they are.

1899 A. H. Lewis Sandburrs 108 He's a nipper, but a queer one see! He always woiks alone an' his lay is diamonds.

4. colloquial (originally British).

a. Originally: a boy who assists a costermonger, carter, etc. Later (more generally): the most junior member of a group of workmen, esp. one employed in menial tasks.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > assistant > boy

nipper1851

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 33/2 Such lads..are the smallest class of costermongering youths; and are sometimes called ‘cas'alty boys’, or ‘nippers’.

1882 J. H. Nodal & G. Milner Gloss. Lancs. Dial.: Pt. II 201 Nipper, a carter's assistant; a lad who accompanies a lurry or cart.

1897 Manch. Evening Mail 28 July The strike of lurry boys or ‘nippers’ as they are more generally known, has been of short duration.

1915 Bulletin (Sydney) 9 Dec. 22/1 When the slips were all written out the jobless ganger sent the nipper after the ‘head’.

1965 Tracks we Travel 40 ‘What time is it?’ we ask the ‘nipper’ as we see him collecting the billy cans.

1983 G. Pearson Hooligan (BNC) 60 Boys could lose their jobs—whether as ‘nippers’ or ‘handy’ lads in factories, or as van boys or messenger boys—when they reached early maturity.

b. A small or young boy or (less frequently) girl; the smallest or youngest child in a family.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > child > [noun]

wenchelc890

childeOE

littleOE

littlingOE

hired-childc1275

smalla1300

brolla1325

innocentc1325

chickc1330

congeonc1330

impc1380

faunt1382

young onec1384

scionc1390

weea1400

birdc1405

chickenc1440

enfaunta1475

small boyc1475

whelp1483

burden1490

little one1509

brat?a1513

younkerkin1528

kitling1541

urchin1556

loneling1579

breed1586

budling1587

pledge?1587

ragazzo1591

simplicity1592

bantling1593

tadpole1594

two-year-old1594

bratcheta1600

lambkin1600

younker1601

dandling1611

buda1616

eyas-musketa1616

dovelinga1618

whelplinga1618

puppet1623

butter printa1625

chit1625

piggy1625

ninnyc1626

youngster1633

fairya1635

lap-child1655

chitterling1675

squeaker1676

cherub1680

kid1690

wean1692

kinchin1699

getlingc1700

totum17..

charity-child1723

small girl1734

poult1739

elfin1748

piggy-wiggy1766

piccaninny1774

suck-thumb18..

teeny1802

olive1803

sprout1813

stumpie1820

sexennarian1821

totty1822

toddle1825

toddles1828

poppet1830

brancher1833

toad1836

toddler1837

ankle-biter1840

yarkera1842

twopenny1844

weeny1844

tottykins1849

toddlekins1852

brattock1858

nipper1859

sprat1860

ninepins1862

angelet1868

tenas man1870

tad1877

tacker1885

chavvy1886

joey1887

toddleskin1890

thumb-sucker1891

littlie1893

peewee1894

tyke1894

che-ild1896

kiddo1896

mother's bairn1896

childling1903

kipper1905

pick1905

small1907

God forbid1909

preadolescent1909

subadolescent1914

toto1914

snookums1919

tweenie1919

problem child1920

squirt1924

trottie1924

tiddler1927

subteen1929

perisher1935

poopsie1937

pre-schooler1937

pre-teen1938

pre-teener1940

juvie1941

sprog1944

pikkie1945

subteenager1947

pre-teenager1948

pint-size1954

saucepan lid1960

rug rat1964

smallie1984

bosom-child-

the world > people > person > child > boy > [noun]

knightc893

knapec1000

knaveOE

knape childc1175

knave-childa1225

groom?c1225

knight-bairnc1275

pagec1300

mana1382

swainc1386

knave-bairna1400

little mana1425

man-childa1438

boy1440

little boya1475

lad1535

boykin1540

tomboya1556

urchin1556

loonc1560

kinchin-co(ve)1567

big boy1572

dandiprat1582

pricket1582

boy child1584

callant1597

suck-egg1609

nacketc1618

custrel1668

hospital-boy1677

whelp1710

laddie1721

charity-boy1723

pam-child1760

chappie1822

bo1825

boyo1835

wagling1837

shirttail boy1840

boysie1846

umfaan1852

nipper1859

yob1859

fellow-my-lad?1860

laddo1870

chokra1875

shegetz1885

spalpeen1891

spadger1899

bug1900

boychick1921

sonny boy1928

sonny1939

okie1943

lightie1946

outjie1961

oke1970

1859 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang 68 Nipper, a small boy.

1875 W. D. Parish Dict. Sussex Dial. Nipper, a common nickname for the youngest member of the family, or for one who is unusually small for his age.

1892 M. Williams Round London i. x. 134 The mind of the East End ‘nipper’ is equal to most emergencies.

1940 Bulletin (Sydney) 10 July 17/1 When I was a nipper many time-expired convicts from Tasmania were to be met with in Victoria.

1969 Visct. Buckmaster Roundabout ii. 35 He [sc. a butler] was..always in domestic trouble from the arrival of what he would call ‘another little nipper’.

2001 Scotsman (Electronic ed.) 19 Mar. I seem to remember as a nipper, when purchasing a fish supper..the fish was around the same size as a small car.

c. Australian. A member of a junior lifesavers' club.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > types of association, society, or organization > [noun] > other types of association, society, or organization > member

digger1649

white boys1684

thuggee1852

droog1962

nipper1967

1967 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 3 Feb. 6/8 The establishment of ‘nipper clubs’ for boys aged from eight to 13 would guarantee the future of the surf club movement.

1986 Age (Melbourne) 8 Mar. ii. 10/5 An old lifesaver..is instructing a covey of nippers, little lifesavers-to-be.

2000 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 29 Sept. (South Pinellas ed.) 9 c Hopkins..started off in surf lifesaving as a ‘nipper’, or junior member of a club. Today Australia has about 90,000 volunteer lifeguards..and 30,000 nippers.

II. Something that nips; a tool, implement, etc., for nipping.

5. In plural.

a. A tool or device which has two jaws for grasping or cutting, as forceps, pincers, pliers, tongs, etc. Also a pair of nippers.Occasionally in singular.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > pliers and nippers > [noun]

nippers?1541

pliers1565

dogs1843

?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens i. sig. Aiii A Cyrurgyen..oughte to haue .v. [irons] as Cysers, Nyppers, Launcettes, Rasoures, and Nedelles.

1573 T. Twyne tr. Virgil in T. Phaer & T. Twyne tr. Virgil Whole .xii. Bks. Æneidos xii. sig. Mm^v The stickinge arowhead with hande he doth assay, With nippers eke sumtime, from out the bones to drawe away.

1580 T. Blundeville Foure Offices Horsemanship (rev. ed.) iv. 68 b You may pull it out with a paire of nippers.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Pinsettes, Nippers, little Pincers.

1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall ii. 23 Brazen nippers to pull away hair.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xxii. 309/1 A Glasiers Nipper or Grater.

1714 Philos. Trans. 1713 (Royal Soc.) 28 259 We find a great many pair of small Nippers (such as we pull out Hairs with) commonly of Brass.

1752 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) III. 179 They must be drawn out of their case with a pair of knippers, no fingers are small enough.

1765 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 158 85 pair of shoemakers nippers and pincers.

1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 10 68 Two pair of nippers or small pincers for extracting filaments.

1836 Mag. Domest. Econ. 1 No. 1. 6 To break loaf sugar into small pieces ready for the nippers, use an iron hammer and cleaver.

1865 D. Livingstone & C. Livingstone Narr. Exped. Zambesi xv. 305 Its teeth are..so arranged that the edges cut a hook like nippers.

1905 E. U. Valentine Hecla Sandwith 5 The heavy iron nippers of the crane for dragging under scabs dangled from the roof.

1977 Kitchens & Bathrooms (Time Life Bks.) i. 24/3 (caption) Use nippers to nibble away the unwanted part of the tile.

1994 Harrowsmith Mar. 15/1 My hands knew the tools of my trade: hammer and nippers, awl and nail set, plane, square and pencil.

b. slang. Handcuffs (see also quot. 1982).

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > binding or fettering > [noun] > bond(s) or fetter(s) or shackle(s) > for the hands or arms

copsa700

manaclec1350

handlock1532

hand-bolt1563

handcuff1649

cuff1663

Darbies1673

glim-fenders1699

government securities1707

pinion1736

ruffles1776

bracelet1817

nippers1821

handicuff1825

shangy1839

snitchers1864

come-along1874

shackle-irons1876

mitten1880

wristlet1881

snaps1891

snips1891

stringers1893

twister1910

1821 Life D. Haggart 94 That's one of the bulkies from Dumfries, wanting to clap the nippers on me.

1823 P. Egan Grose's Dict. Vulgar Tongue Nippers, handcuffs.

1876 J. S. Ingram Centennial Exposition viii. 235 The curious part of this [hardware] exhibit consisted in the police nippers.

1910 Encycl. Brit. X. 296/1 Several recently invented appliances are used as handcuffs, e.g. snaps, nippers, twisters. They differ from handcuffs in being intended for one wrist only... The nippers can be instantly fastened on the wrist.

1939 Fortune July 104/1 At 2145 one of the detectives put nippers on the prisoner's wrist.

1953 ‘F. Paley’ Rumble on Docks 297 Fitz whirled the nippers as easily as a zoot chain.

1982 R. De Sola Crime Dict. 102/2 Nippers, chain-grip-actuated handcuffs.

†c. An implement used for grasping large stones or the links of a chain. Obsolete.Its exact form is unclear: the ‘devil's claw’ (quot. 1840) is a hook.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > for gripping block of stone

nippers1840

scissors1892

1840 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 3 29/1 The stones..were first held fast by an implement, technically called nippers or devil's claws.

1898 Daily News 10 Oct. 9/3 A chain weighing several tons was being lowered down the pit shaft by means of nippers.

d. Eyeglasses, pince-nez. Now rare.See also nose-nippers n. at nose n. Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > ophthalmology or optometry > aids to defective vision > [noun] > spectacles > pince-nez

bridge spectacles1830

pince-nez1866

nippers1876

nose glasses1890

nose-nippers1895

nose pinch1896

1876 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) II. 183 I am writing at this moment with spectacles (not nippers, mind you..) across my prosaic nose.

1903 H. James Ambassadors i. i. 9 His eyes were so quiet behind his eternal nippers that they might almost have been absent without changing his face.

1925 W. Cather Women's Home Compan. (1992) Feb.–Mar. There's Julia Knewstubb, with her nippers hanging on her nose, looking more like a horse than ever.

6. Usually in plural.

a. An incisor tooth of a horse.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > mouth or type of > teeth > incisor(s)

nipper1621

mark-tooth1626

pincer1658

1621 T. Lodge tr. W. Saluste Learned Summary I. 278 The foreteeth are called the Nippers.

1696 W. Hope tr. J. de Solleysel Compl. Horseman i. v. 19 There groweth then in the place of these four Foal-teeth..four others which are called Nippers or Gatherers.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Teeth Nippers, which are the two foremost Teeth above and below, which a Horse first changes.

1766 Compl. Farmer at Age of a horse The new teeth..are called the nippers or gatherers, being those by which a horse nips off the grass.

a1842 C. Bell Anat. & Philos. Expression (ed. 3) (1844) ii. 53 The incisor teeth or nippers project.

1854 R. Owen Struct. Skeleton & Teeth in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature I. 285 The first deciduous incisor—‘centre nipper’ of veterinarians—..usually cuts the gum between the third and sixth days.

1871 F. A. Gunther New Man. Homoeopathic Vet. Med. 60 These phenomena are observed on the lower jaw sooner than on the upper, and on the nippers sooner than on the central and corner teeth.

1988 Horse & Tack Mart June 72/1 The front teeth are used for cutting and holding and are called incisors or nippers.

b. A grasping claw or pincer-like organ of a crustacean or other animal (figurative in quot. 1876).

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > member of > parts of > pincer-like claws

shears1682

nipper1696

pincher1717

pincer1796

1696 Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 279 These feet have no Claws or Nippers to take hold of any thing as the other feet have, and each of them is only furnished with a small Claw standing exactly or straight forwards.

1769 E. Bancroft Ess. Nat. Hist. Guiana 240 Five pair of legs..each..armed at the end with a pair of red nippers.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. 369 The two nippers or claws resemble the thumbs.

1848 C. A. Johns Week at Lizard 259 The insertion of the point of a knife into the joint of the great claws..renders the nippers powerless.

1863 G. Kearley Links in Chain vii. 153 Its great hairy nipper claws give it a very distinctive character.

1876 Ld. Tennyson Harold ii. i. 35 Our great Count-crab will make his nippers meet in thine heart.

a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xiv. 352 The fangs of the deadly nippers (chelicerae) in front of the mouth [of a spider] move vertically.

1986 T. Hughes Flowers & Insects 48 Her two hands seemed swollen, like tiny crab-claws. Those two nippers she folds up under nose To bring things to her pincers.

2001 Journal (Aberdeen) (Electronic ed.) 4 Apr. The crab has a third set of pincers growing out of one of its claws. And the extra nippers have twice saved it from the cooking pot.

7. Nautical.

a. A short piece of rope used to bind one rope to another temporarily, as an anchor cable and its associated messenger cable during the lifting of the anchor.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > anchoring equipment > [noun] > rope to prevent cable from slipping

nipper1627

1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ix. 44 [The cable] surges or slips backe vnlesse they keep it close to the whelps, and then they..hold it fast with nippers.

1670 J. Dryden & W. Davenant Shakespeare's Tempest i. 2 Nip well there; Quarter-Master, get's more Nippers.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xv. 49/2 The Nipers, are small ropes..used to hold off the cabell from the capstain, or geer capstain.

1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Nippers These nippers are usually six or eight feet in length.

1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Nippers The persons employed to bind the nippers about the cable and voyal, are called nipper-men.

1825 H. B. Gascoigne Path to Naval Fame 47 The gaining side and Cable bound in one, By pliant Nippers which the Boys hold on.

1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 498 The nipper is passed at the manger-board, the fore-end pressing itself against the cable.

1976 P. Kemp Oxf. Compan. Ships & Sea 598/2 Nipper,..a short length of rope..which was used to bind the anchor cable temporarily to the viol, or messenger, in those days when the anchor was weighed by hand round the capstan.

b. A thin hammock. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > other equipment of vessel > [noun] > bed on ship > hammock > with very little bedding

greyhound1825

nipper1825

1825 W. N. Glascock Naval Sketch-bk. 7 ‘'Cause,’ continued he, ‘None o' your “midshipman's rolls”, you know!—we'll have no greyhounds or “nippers” in the nettings.’

1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Nipper, a hammock with so little bedding as to be unfit for stowing in the nettings.

1976 P. Kemp Oxf. Compan. Ships & Sea 599/1 A hammock lashed up with so little bedclothing in it that it would not stand on end in a hammock netting was also known as a nipper.

c. A thick woollen mitten or glove of a type used by fishermen to protect their wrists and hands. Usually in plural.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for hands > [noun] > glove > types of > other

left1657

beaver1816

manakin1824

nipper1840

right1884

mousquetaire1889

slip-on1949

1840 Niles' Reg. 15 Aug. 376/3 An article, neither mittens nor gloves, which he [sc. Bay of Fundy fisherman] wears upon his hands, he calls ‘nippers’.

1895 Christmas Rev. 18 Sam Holland..though as good a fellow as ever donned a ‘nipper’, or threw a line from a ‘standing room’ had done considerable bragging.

1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous 56 A heavy blue jersey well darned at the elbows, a pair of nippers, and a sou'wester.

1955 F. W. Wallace Roving Fisherman 48 ‘Guess we'll haul back,’ said Jim at last, slipping a pair of woollen ‘nippers’ over his hands.

1972 E. Staebler Cape Breton Harbour xii. 112 ‘Have ye got a pair of nippers?’ ‘What are nippers?’ ‘Gloves without fingers so you won't get blisters from handline.’

1988 Atlantic Insight Jan. 6/1 (advt.) Knitters and craftspeople will be delighted with the patterns and knitting instructions for fishermen's wristers and nippers, caps, [etc.].

†a. A device to regulate the amount of tar used in tarring a rope. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > other tools and equipment

pollhache1324

poleaxe1356

muckrake1366

pestlea1382

botea1450

staff1459

press-board1558

reel1593

water crane1658

lathekin1659

tower1662

dressing hook1683

liner1683

hovel1686

flax-brake1688

nipper1688

horse1728

tap1797

feather-stick1824

bow1839

safety belt1840

economizer1841

throttle damper1849

cleat1854

leg brace1857

bark-peeler1862

pugging screw1862

nail driver1863

spool1864

turntable1865

ovate1872

tension bar1879

icebreaker1881

spreader1881

toucher1881

window pole1888

mushroom head1890

rat1894

slackline1896

auger1897

latch hook1900

thimble1901

horse1904

pipe jack1909

mulcher1910

hand plate1911

splashguard1917

cheese-cutter1927

airbrasive1945

impactor1945

fogger1946

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. v. 272 A Pair of Nippers..are of Iron, and are to hold the Rope fast down in the Tar Pan, while it is drawn through the Tar.

1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 55 A nipper is formed of two steel plates, eight inches square and half an inch thick, with a semi-oval hole in each four inches wide, which, by the upper plate moving, enlarges or contracts as the tarring of the yarn requires.

1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1080/1 Being dipped in a tar-kettle, the haul is dragged through a grip..or sliding nipper which expresses superfluous tar.

b. In textile machinery (esp. in wool-combing): a device for seizing and holding the material.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > treating or processing textile materials > treating or processing wool > [noun] > combing > machine > parts of

card can1815

broach1837

nipper1852

1852 S. C. Lister & J. Ambler Brit. Patent 13,950 (1854) 3 A thin plate of iron is inserted between the rows of the teeth so as to act as a nipper.

1884 R. Marsden Cotton Spinning v. 136 These rollers..delivered the cotton to a pair of nippers which opened to allow its passage.

1889 J. Burnley Hist. Wool & Woolcombing 228 The nipper consists of a leather-covered jaw and a top jaw with three flutes.

1948 J. T. Marsh Textile Sci. vi. 128 After the leading edge of the fringe has been combed, the nippers open and the fringe is drawn forward by rollers.

1969 W. Von Bergen Wool Handbk. (ed. 3) II. 308 The feeding gill moves forward placing the fringe of the fibers to be combed into the open nipper jaws.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	nipper
释义	nippern.¹ Brit. /ˈnɪpə/, U.S. /ˈnɪpər/ Forms: 1500s–1700s nypper, 1500s– nipper, 1700s (1900s– English regional (Suffolk)) knipper. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: nip v.¹, -er suffix¹. Etymology: < nip v.¹ + -er suffix¹. I. Something which nips. 1. a. A person, animal, etc., that nips (in various senses of nip v.¹).Sometimes with prefixed word specifying the object, etc., nipped.In early use, in citations or echoes of Isaiah 50:5. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > [noun] > contemptuous person > by gesture nipper1535 the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > [noun] > one who or that which damages spulyierc1475 marrerc1500 maimer1530 hinderer1532 nipper1535 mangler1561 spoiler1577 truncator1579 batterer1611 spoil?1611 mauler1618 wrecker1882 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. l. B I offre my backe vnto y^e smyters, and my chees[sic] to the nyppers. a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 30 Ready bakbiters, sore nippers, and spitefull reporters priuilie of good men. 1611 A. Stafford Niobe 93 Thou nipper of mirth, thou vnpleasant toyle. 1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 6 Cold [is] the great enemie and nipper of vegetation. 1661 Bp. J. Taylor Serm. at Opening Parl. Irel. 8 May [Jesus] gave his back to the smiters and his cheeks to the nippers. 1952 G. F. Hervey & J. Hems Freshwater Trop. Aquarium Fishes 276 Members of this genus are pugnacious by nature, incorrigible fin-nippers, and not particularly attractive in appearance. 1999 Providence (Rhode Island) Jrnl.-Bull. (Nexis) 16 Mar. 6 c ‘She's a nipper,’ he says, ‘likes to bite. She can be vicious.’ b. Newfoundland. A large mosquito. Cf. gallinipper n. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Nematocera > family Culicidae > member of (gnat or mosquito) > large gallinipper1801 nipper1819 1663 J. Yonge Jrnl. (1963) (modernized text) 60 In July, the muscetos (a little biting fly) and garnippers (a larger one) will much vex us.] 1819 in J. Hewson Beothuk Vocabularies (1978) 46 Nipper, bebadrook. 1822 J. Nicol Life & Adventures ii. 26 In the summer I was much annoyed by the mosquitos and yellow nippers, a worse fly. 1854 E. Feild Jrnl. Bp. Newfoundland's Voy. 70 The title or name [sc. Nipper's Harbour] is rather an alarming one, particularly to thin skinned Southerners, as the Nipper is the largest and most formidable of the mosquitoes. 1861 Harper's Mag. May 744/2 Mercy! who ever saw the flies and nippers so bad as they! 1913 W. S. Thomas Trails & Tramps in Alaska & Newfoundland 191 All day long the black flies made our lives miserable, and as night approached the ‘nippers’ took their place. 1993 Newfoundland Sportsman Winter 8/1 Between me and the tools of my trade are zillions of the largest and most voracious nippers ever created. Surely, God was angry at man when he made Labrador mosquitos. c. Australian. Any of various burrowing marine prawns (order Decapoda, infraorder Thalassinidea) widely used as fishing bait. Also called yabby. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > subclass Malacostraca > division Thoracostraca > order Decapoda > miscellaneous types of butterfly lobster1880 nipper1882 cup-shrimp1911 1882 J. E. Tenison-Woods Fish & Fisheries New S. Wales 126 Alphaeus socialis..locally named the ‘Nipper’, is..a good deal sought for, but not so much for food as for bait for black bream fishing. 1895 C. Thackeray Amateur Fisherman's Guide 82 Raw prawns and nippers are the best baits. 1952 W. J. Dakin Austral. Seashores 174 Sometimes called nippers or ghost-nippers by fishermen who use them as bait, and they are yabbies to Queenslanders. 1983 Fishing Information & Services Handbk. 76 The top baits..would naturally include..nippers, harbour prawns. d. U.S. regional. The cunner, Tautogolabrus adspersus (family Labridae), of the north west Atlantic. Cf. nibbler n. 2a. Now historical. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Labrioidei (wrasse) > [noun] > family Labridae > tautog tautog1750 blackfish1842 oysterfish1855 nipper1884 1884 G. B. Goode in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 273 At Salem they [sc. the Blue Perch] are called ‘Nippers’, and occasionally here and elsewhere ‘Bait-stealers’. 1911 Rep. Comm. U.S. Bureau Fisheries 1908 308 Chogset (Tautogolabrus adspersus).—This fish..is also called..‘nippers’. 2. A mean or miserly person. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [noun] > niggard or mean person nithinga1225 chinch?a1300 nigc1300 chincher1333 shut-purse1340 niggardc1384 haynec1386 nigona1400 pinchera1425 pinchpenny?c1425 pynepenya1450 pelt1511 chincherda1529 churl1535 pinchbeck1538 carl?1542 penny-father1549 nipfarthing1566 nipper?1573 holdfast1576 pinchpence1577 pinch fistc1580 pinchfart1592 shit-sticks1598 clunchfist1606 puckfist1606 sharp-nose1611 spare-good1611 crib1622 hog grubber?1626 dry-fist1633 clusterfist1652 niggardling1654 frummer1659 scrat1699 sting-hum1699 nipcheese1785 pincha1825 screw1825 wire-drawer1828 close-fist1861 penny-pincher1875 nip-skin1876 parer1887 pinch-plum1892 cheapskate1899 meanie1902 tightwad1906 stinge1914 penny-peeler1925 mean1938 stiff1967 ?1573 L. Lloyd Pilgrimage of Princes 16 Amongst so many nippers of money, he onely shewed himself bountifull and liberall. 1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 63 The noant Margery's a nipper. 1853 J. Fraser Poet. Chimes 183 E'en though lank puirith to be a nipper, you should be vauntie. 1877 F. Ross et al. Gloss. E. Riding Yorks. 100/2 Nipper, a greedy, niggardly person. 1879 F. W. Robinson Coward Conscience ii. xiii That old, disagreeable nipper of a cousin of yours. 1911 A. Warrack Scots Dial. Dict. 310/2 Nipper, a niggard. †3. slang. Originally: a stealer of purses, etc. (see nip v.¹ 7b). Later (more generally): a thief; (also) a swindler. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > pickpocket or cutpurse > [noun] pickpursec1385 pursepick?a1513 purse-picker1549 nipper1585 nip1591 purser1640 1585 W. Fleetwood in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. II. 278 He that could take a peece of sylver out of the purse without the noyse of any of the bells, he was adjudged a judiciall Nypper. 1592 R. Greene Thirde Pt. Conny-catching sig. D4 This fellow he had heard to bee one of the finest Nippers about the towne. a1640 J. Day & H. Chettle Blind-beggar (1659) sig. C2^v Your nipper, your foyst, your rogue, your cheat, your pander. 1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Nypper, a cut purse, so called by one Wotton, who in the year 1585, kept an academy for the education..of pick-pockets. a1859 L. Hunt Coll. Wks. (1860) 156 Thou art his privy nipper, thou old thief. 1886 P. D. Haywood Cruise of Alabama 68 All trade in Kingston is in the hands of these people, and nippers they are. 1899 A. H. Lewis Sandburrs 108 He's a nipper, but a queer one see! He always woiks alone an' his lay is diamonds. 4. colloquial (originally British). a. Originally: a boy who assists a costermonger, carter, etc. Later (more generally): the most junior member of a group of workmen, esp. one employed in menial tasks. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > assistant > boy nipper1851 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 33/2 Such lads..are the smallest class of costermongering youths; and are sometimes called ‘cas'alty boys’, or ‘nippers’. 1882 J. H. Nodal & G. Milner Gloss. Lancs. Dial.: Pt. II 201 Nipper, a carter's assistant; a lad who accompanies a lurry or cart. 1897 Manch. Evening Mail 28 July The strike of lurry boys or ‘nippers’ as they are more generally known, has been of short duration. 1915 Bulletin (Sydney) 9 Dec. 22/1 When the slips were all written out the jobless ganger sent the nipper after the ‘head’. 1965 Tracks we Travel 40 ‘What time is it?’ we ask the ‘nipper’ as we see him collecting the billy cans. 1983 G. Pearson Hooligan (BNC) 60 Boys could lose their jobs—whether as ‘nippers’ or ‘handy’ lads in factories, or as van boys or messenger boys—when they reached early maturity. b. A small or young boy or (less frequently) girl; the smallest or youngest child in a family. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > child > [noun] wenchelc890 childeOE littleOE littlingOE hired-childc1275 smalla1300 brolla1325 innocentc1325 chickc1330 congeonc1330 impc1380 faunt1382 young onec1384 scionc1390 weea1400 birdc1405 chickenc1440 enfaunta1475 small boyc1475 whelp1483 burden1490 little one1509 brat?a1513 younkerkin1528 kitling1541 urchin1556 loneling1579 breed1586 budling1587 pledge?1587 ragazzo1591 simplicity1592 bantling1593 tadpole1594 two-year-old1594 bratcheta1600 lambkin1600 younker1601 dandling1611 buda1616 eyas-musketa1616 dovelinga1618 whelplinga1618 puppet1623 butter printa1625 chit1625 piggy1625 ninnyc1626 youngster1633 fairya1635 lap-child1655 chitterling1675 squeaker1676 cherub1680 kid1690 wean1692 kinchin1699 getlingc1700 totum17.. charity-child1723 small girl1734 poult1739 elfin1748 piggy-wiggy1766 piccaninny1774 suck-thumb18.. teeny1802 olive1803 sprout1813 stumpie1820 sexennarian1821 totty1822 toddle1825 toddles1828 poppet1830 brancher1833 toad1836 toddler1837 ankle-biter1840 yarkera1842 twopenny1844 weeny1844 tottykins1849 toddlekins1852 brattock1858 nipper1859 sprat1860 ninepins1862 angelet1868 tenas man1870 tad1877 tacker1885 chavvy1886 joey1887 toddleskin1890 thumb-sucker1891 littlie1893 peewee1894 tyke1894 che-ild1896 kiddo1896 mother's bairn1896 childling1903 kipper1905 pick1905 small1907 God forbid1909 preadolescent1909 subadolescent1914 toto1914 snookums1919 tweenie1919 problem child1920 squirt1924 trottie1924 tiddler1927 subteen1929 perisher1935 poopsie1937 pre-schooler1937 pre-teen1938 pre-teener1940 juvie1941 sprog1944 pikkie1945 subteenager1947 pre-teenager1948 pint-size1954 saucepan lid1960 rug rat1964 smallie1984 bosom-child- the world > people > person > child > boy > [noun] knightc893 knapec1000 knaveOE knape childc1175 knave-childa1225 groom?c1225 knight-bairnc1275 pagec1300 mana1382 swainc1386 knave-bairna1400 little mana1425 man-childa1438 boy1440 little boya1475 lad1535 boykin1540 tomboya1556 urchin1556 loonc1560 kinchin-co(ve)1567 big boy1572 dandiprat1582 pricket1582 boy child1584 callant1597 suck-egg1609 nacketc1618 custrel1668 hospital-boy1677 whelp1710 laddie1721 charity-boy1723 pam-child1760 chappie1822 bo1825 boyo1835 wagling1837 shirttail boy1840 boysie1846 umfaan1852 nipper1859 yob1859 fellow-my-lad?1860 laddo1870 chokra1875 shegetz1885 spalpeen1891 spadger1899 bug1900 boychick1921 sonny boy1928 sonny1939 okie1943 lightie1946 outjie1961 oke1970 1859 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang 68 Nipper, a small boy. 1875 W. D. Parish Dict. Sussex Dial. Nipper, a common nickname for the youngest member of the family, or for one who is unusually small for his age. 1892 M. Williams Round London i. x. 134 The mind of the East End ‘nipper’ is equal to most emergencies. 1940 Bulletin (Sydney) 10 July 17/1 When I was a nipper many time-expired convicts from Tasmania were to be met with in Victoria. 1969 Visct. Buckmaster Roundabout ii. 35 He [sc. a butler] was..always in domestic trouble from the arrival of what he would call ‘another little nipper’. 2001 Scotsman (Electronic ed.) 19 Mar. I seem to remember as a nipper, when purchasing a fish supper..the fish was around the same size as a small car. c. Australian. A member of a junior lifesavers' club. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > types of association, society, or organization > [noun] > other types of association, society, or organization > member digger1649 white boys1684 thuggee1852 droog1962 nipper1967 1967 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 3 Feb. 6/8 The establishment of ‘nipper clubs’ for boys aged from eight to 13 would guarantee the future of the surf club movement. 1986 Age (Melbourne) 8 Mar. ii. 10/5 An old lifesaver..is instructing a covey of nippers, little lifesavers-to-be. 2000 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 29 Sept. (South Pinellas ed.) 9 c Hopkins..started off in surf lifesaving as a ‘nipper’, or junior member of a club. Today Australia has about 90,000 volunteer lifeguards..and 30,000 nippers. II. Something that nips; a tool, implement, etc., for nipping. 5. In plural. a. A tool or device which has two jaws for grasping or cutting, as forceps, pincers, pliers, tongs, etc. Also a pair of nippers.Occasionally in singular. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > pliers and nippers > [noun] nippers?1541 pliers1565 dogs1843 ?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens i. sig. Aiii A Cyrurgyen..oughte to haue .v. [irons] as Cysers, Nyppers, Launcettes, Rasoures, and Nedelles. 1573 T. Twyne tr. Virgil in T. Phaer & T. Twyne tr. Virgil Whole .xii. Bks. Æneidos xii. sig. Mm^v The stickinge arowhead with hande he doth assay, With nippers eke sumtime, from out the bones to drawe away. 1580 T. Blundeville Foure Offices Horsemanship (rev. ed.) iv. 68 b You may pull it out with a paire of nippers. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Pinsettes, Nippers, little Pincers. 1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall ii. 23 Brazen nippers to pull away hair. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xxii. 309/1 A Glasiers Nipper or Grater. 1714 Philos. Trans. 1713 (Royal Soc.) 28 259 We find a great many pair of small Nippers (such as we pull out Hairs with) commonly of Brass. 1752 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) III. 179 They must be drawn out of their case with a pair of knippers, no fingers are small enough. 1765 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 158 85 pair of shoemakers nippers and pincers. 1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 10 68 Two pair of nippers or small pincers for extracting filaments. 1836 Mag. Domest. Econ. 1 No. 1. 6 To break loaf sugar into small pieces ready for the nippers, use an iron hammer and cleaver. 1865 D. Livingstone & C. Livingstone Narr. Exped. Zambesi xv. 305 Its teeth are..so arranged that the edges cut a hook like nippers. 1905 E. U. Valentine Hecla Sandwith 5 The heavy iron nippers of the crane for dragging under scabs dangled from the roof. 1977 Kitchens & Bathrooms (Time Life Bks.) i. 24/3 (caption) Use nippers to nibble away the unwanted part of the tile. 1994 Harrowsmith Mar. 15/1 My hands knew the tools of my trade: hammer and nippers, awl and nail set, plane, square and pencil. b. slang. Handcuffs (see also quot. 1982). ΘΚΠ society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > binding or fettering > [noun] > bond(s) or fetter(s) or shackle(s) > for the hands or arms copsa700 manaclec1350 handlock1532 hand-bolt1563 handcuff1649 cuff1663 Darbies1673 glim-fenders1699 government securities1707 pinion1736 ruffles1776 bracelet1817 nippers1821 handicuff1825 shangy1839 snitchers1864 come-along1874 shackle-irons1876 mitten1880 wristlet1881 snaps1891 snips1891 stringers1893 twister1910 1821 Life D. Haggart 94 That's one of the bulkies from Dumfries, wanting to clap the nippers on me. 1823 P. Egan Grose's Dict. Vulgar Tongue Nippers, handcuffs. 1876 J. S. Ingram Centennial Exposition viii. 235 The curious part of this [hardware] exhibit consisted in the police nippers. 1910 Encycl. Brit. X. 296/1 Several recently invented appliances are used as handcuffs, e.g. snaps, nippers, twisters. They differ from handcuffs in being intended for one wrist only... The nippers can be instantly fastened on the wrist. 1939 Fortune July 104/1 At 2145 one of the detectives put nippers on the prisoner's wrist. 1953 ‘F. Paley’ Rumble on Docks 297 Fitz whirled the nippers as easily as a zoot chain. 1982 R. De Sola Crime Dict. 102/2 Nippers, chain-grip-actuated handcuffs. †c. An implement used for grasping large stones or the links of a chain. Obsolete.Its exact form is unclear: the ‘devil's claw’ (quot. 1840) is a hook. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > for gripping block of stone nippers1840 scissors1892 1840 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 3 29/1 The stones..were first held fast by an implement, technically called nippers or devil's claws. 1898 Daily News 10 Oct. 9/3 A chain weighing several tons was being lowered down the pit shaft by means of nippers. d. Eyeglasses, pince-nez. Now rare.See also nose-nippers n. at nose n. Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > ophthalmology or optometry > aids to defective vision > [noun] > spectacles > pince-nez bridge spectacles1830 pince-nez1866 nippers1876 nose glasses1890 nose-nippers1895 nose pinch1896 1876 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) II. 183 I am writing at this moment with spectacles (not nippers, mind you..) across my prosaic nose. 1903 H. James Ambassadors i. i. 9 His eyes were so quiet behind his eternal nippers that they might almost have been absent without changing his face. 1925 W. Cather Women's Home Compan. (1992) Feb.–Mar. There's Julia Knewstubb, with her nippers hanging on her nose, looking more like a horse than ever. 6. Usually in plural. a. An incisor tooth of a horse. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > mouth or type of > teeth > incisor(s) nipper1621 mark-tooth1626 pincer1658 1621 T. Lodge tr. W. Saluste Learned Summary I. 278 The foreteeth are called the Nippers. 1696 W. Hope tr. J. de Solleysel Compl. Horseman i. v. 19 There groweth then in the place of these four Foal-teeth..four others which are called Nippers or Gatherers. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Teeth Nippers, which are the two foremost Teeth above and below, which a Horse first changes. 1766 Compl. Farmer at Age of a horse The new teeth..are called the nippers or gatherers, being those by which a horse nips off the grass. a1842 C. Bell Anat. & Philos. Expression (ed. 3) (1844) ii. 53 The incisor teeth or nippers project. 1854 R. Owen Struct. Skeleton & Teeth in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature I. 285 The first deciduous incisor—‘centre nipper’ of veterinarians—..usually cuts the gum between the third and sixth days. 1871 F. A. Gunther New Man. Homoeopathic Vet. Med. 60 These phenomena are observed on the lower jaw sooner than on the upper, and on the nippers sooner than on the central and corner teeth. 1988 Horse & Tack Mart June 72/1 The front teeth are used for cutting and holding and are called incisors or nippers. b. A grasping claw or pincer-like organ of a crustacean or other animal (figurative in quot. 1876). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > member of > parts of > pincer-like claws shears1682 nipper1696 pincher1717 pincer1796 1696 Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 279 These feet have no Claws or Nippers to take hold of any thing as the other feet have, and each of them is only furnished with a small Claw standing exactly or straight forwards. 1769 E. Bancroft Ess. Nat. Hist. Guiana 240 Five pair of legs..each..armed at the end with a pair of red nippers. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. 369 The two nippers or claws resemble the thumbs. 1848 C. A. Johns Week at Lizard 259 The insertion of the point of a knife into the joint of the great claws..renders the nippers powerless. 1863 G. Kearley Links in Chain vii. 153 Its great hairy nipper claws give it a very distinctive character. 1876 Ld. Tennyson Harold ii. i. 35 Our great Count-crab will make his nippers meet in thine heart. a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xiv. 352 The fangs of the deadly nippers (chelicerae) in front of the mouth [of a spider] move vertically. 1986 T. Hughes Flowers & Insects 48 Her two hands seemed swollen, like tiny crab-claws. Those two nippers she folds up under nose To bring things to her pincers. 2001 Journal (Aberdeen) (Electronic ed.) 4 Apr. The crab has a third set of pincers growing out of one of its claws. And the extra nippers have twice saved it from the cooking pot. 7. Nautical. a. A short piece of rope used to bind one rope to another temporarily, as an anchor cable and its associated messenger cable during the lifting of the anchor. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > anchoring equipment > [noun] > rope to prevent cable from slipping nipper1627 1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ix. 44 [The cable] surges or slips backe vnlesse they keep it close to the whelps, and then they..hold it fast with nippers. 1670 J. Dryden & W. Davenant Shakespeare's Tempest i. 2 Nip well there; Quarter-Master, get's more Nippers. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xv. 49/2 The Nipers, are small ropes..used to hold off the cabell from the capstain, or geer capstain. 1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Nippers These nippers are usually six or eight feet in length. 1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Nippers The persons employed to bind the nippers about the cable and voyal, are called nipper-men. 1825 H. B. Gascoigne Path to Naval Fame 47 The gaining side and Cable bound in one, By pliant Nippers which the Boys hold on. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 498 The nipper is passed at the manger-board, the fore-end pressing itself against the cable. 1976 P. Kemp Oxf. Compan. Ships & Sea 598/2 Nipper,..a short length of rope..which was used to bind the anchor cable temporarily to the viol, or messenger, in those days when the anchor was weighed by hand round the capstan. b. A thin hammock. Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > other equipment of vessel > [noun] > bed on ship > hammock > with very little bedding greyhound1825 nipper1825 1825 W. N. Glascock Naval Sketch-bk. 7 ‘'Cause,’ continued he, ‘None o' your “midshipman's rolls”, you know!—we'll have no greyhounds or “nippers” in the nettings.’ 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Nipper, a hammock with so little bedding as to be unfit for stowing in the nettings. 1976 P. Kemp Oxf. Compan. Ships & Sea 599/1 A hammock lashed up with so little bedclothing in it that it would not stand on end in a hammock netting was also known as a nipper. c. A thick woollen mitten or glove of a type used by fishermen to protect their wrists and hands. Usually in plural. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for hands > [noun] > glove > types of > other left1657 beaver1816 manakin1824 nipper1840 right1884 mousquetaire1889 slip-on1949 1840 Niles' Reg. 15 Aug. 376/3 An article, neither mittens nor gloves, which he [sc. Bay of Fundy fisherman] wears upon his hands, he calls ‘nippers’. 1895 Christmas Rev. 18 Sam Holland..though as good a fellow as ever donned a ‘nipper’, or threw a line from a ‘standing room’ had done considerable bragging. 1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous 56 A heavy blue jersey well darned at the elbows, a pair of nippers, and a sou'wester. 1955 F. W. Wallace Roving Fisherman 48 ‘Guess we'll haul back,’ said Jim at last, slipping a pair of woollen ‘nippers’ over his hands. 1972 E. Staebler Cape Breton Harbour xii. 112 ‘Have ye got a pair of nippers?’ ‘What are nippers?’ ‘Gloves without fingers so you won't get blisters from handline.’ 1988 Atlantic Insight Jan. 6/1 (advt.) Knitters and craftspeople will be delighted with the patterns and knitting instructions for fishermen's wristers and nippers, caps, [etc.]. 8. †a. A device to regulate the amount of tar used in tarring a rope. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > other tools and equipment pollhache1324 poleaxe1356 muckrake1366 pestlea1382 botea1450 staff1459 press-board1558 reel1593 water crane1658 lathekin1659 tower1662 dressing hook1683 liner1683 hovel1686 flax-brake1688 nipper1688 horse1728 tap1797 feather-stick1824 bow1839 safety belt1840 economizer1841 throttle damper1849 cleat1854 leg brace1857 bark-peeler1862 pugging screw1862 nail driver1863 spool1864 turntable1865 ovate1872 tension bar1879 icebreaker1881 spreader1881 toucher1881 window pole1888 mushroom head1890 rat1894 slackline1896 auger1897 latch hook1900 thimble1901 horse1904 pipe jack1909 mulcher1910 hand plate1911 splashguard1917 cheese-cutter1927 airbrasive1945 impactor1945 fogger1946 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. v. 272 A Pair of Nippers..are of Iron, and are to hold the Rope fast down in the Tar Pan, while it is drawn through the Tar. 1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 55 A nipper is formed of two steel plates, eight inches square and half an inch thick, with a semi-oval hole in each four inches wide, which, by the upper plate moving, enlarges or contracts as the tarring of the yarn requires. 1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1080/1 Being dipped in a tar-kettle, the haul is dragged through a grip..or sliding nipper which expresses superfluous tar. b. In textile machinery (esp. in wool-combing): a device for seizing and holding the material. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > treating or processing textile materials > treating or processing wool > [noun] > combing > machine > parts of card can1815 broach1837 nipper1852 1852 S. C. Lister & J. Ambler Brit. Patent 13,950 (1854) 3 A thin plate of iron is inserted between the rows of the teeth so as to act as a nipper. 1884 R. Marsden Cotton Spinning v. 136 These rollers..delivered the cotton to a pair of nippers which opened to allow its passage. 1889 J. Burnley Hist. Wool & Woolcombing 228 The nipper consists of a leather-covered jaw and a top jaw with three flutes. 1948 J. T. Marsh Textile Sci. vi. 128 After the leading edge of the fringe has been combed, the nippers open and the fringe is drawn forward by rollers. 1969 W. Von Bergen Wool Handbk. (ed. 3) II. 308 The feeding gill moves forward placing the fringe of the fibers to be combed into the open nipper jaws. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022). nippern.² Brit. /ˈnɪpə/, U.S. /ˈnɪpər/ Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: nipperkin n. Etymology: Shortened < nipperkin n. Compare nip n.⁴Sense 2 may be a different word. Now rare. 1. = nip n.⁴ ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun] > small quantity of nipper1844 nip1869 jigger1870 tickler1889 nippy sweetie1974 1844 J. Ballantine Miller xvii Will you have a raw nipper or a glass of hot, Jock? 1866 Brit. Workman xii. 78 He could not pass it without having what he termed his ‘nipper’, or what some of the good people of Scotland call their ‘morning’. 1887 Harper's Mag. Nov. 960 Young stock-brokers begin to ‘take a nipper’ early in the morning. 1911 A. Warrack Scots Dial. Dict. 380/2 Nipper, a small quantity of strong liquor. 2. U.S. A minor antecedent; a foretaste. rare. ΚΠ 1904 W. H. Smith Promoters v. 99 All he'd done so far was only a sort of ‘nipper’ for what he had planned ahead. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). nippern.³ Brit. /ˈnɪpə/, U.S. /ˈnɪpər/ Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: nip v.², -er suffix¹. Etymology: < nip v.² + -er suffix¹. rare. A person who takes nips of alcoholic drink. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [noun] > drinking intoxicating liquor > person nipper1886 white line1895 swigger1941 1886 Home Words 16 21 The ‘Nipper’, says with confidence, ‘the little drop which I take would hurt nobody’. 1936 R. A. Freeman Penrose Myst. x. 138 Your regular nipper, especially of wine, doesn't often get drunk. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). nipperv.¹ Brit. /ˈnɪpə/, U.S. /ˈnɪpər/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: nipper n.¹ Etymology: < nipper n.¹ Compare nipper v.² †1. transitive. Nautical. To secure (a rope) by means of cross-turns; to fasten with nippers. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [verb (transitive)] > bind or fasten to turn in?1537 frap1548 reeve1627 seize1644 nip1670 marl1704 marline1706 clinch1780 nipper1794 clench1803 to turn in1834 1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 190 The strap is nippered, with a heaver, round the block. 1830 J. F. Cooper Water Witch III. ii. 29 Then was heard the usual summons of, ‘all hands up anchor, ahoy!’ and the rapid orders of the young officers to ‘man capstan bars’, to ‘nipper’ and finally to ‘heave away’. 1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxix. 330 When these tackles were nippered, straps and toggles clapped upon the falls, and two more luff tackles hooked on..in the same manner. c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 34 Heaving the two parts of the lanyard close together so as to nipper them. 2. transitive. To grasp, cut, etc., with nippers (in various senses). rare. ΚΠ 1982 W. L. Heat Moon Blue Highways ix. xi. 379 We could see egrets down on the tidal flats of the Cohansey as they nippered up little crabs swarming the brown mud. 1987 T. Horton Bay Country (1989) iv. 74 I used to nipper oysters out there in twelve feet of water. Derivatives ˈnippering n. ΚΠ 1948 R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 490/2 Nippering, fastening two parts of a rope by making turns crosswise between the parts and jamming them. 1995 Pittsburgh Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 15 Oct. h2 The festival will involve all things oyster-related, including oyster tonging, nippering and shucking demonstrations, boat rides, oyster skipping contests and oyster dishes. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † nipperv.² Origin: Probably formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: nip v.¹, -er suffix⁵. Etymology: Probably < nip v.¹ (compare sense 7a s.v.) + -er suffix⁵. Compare nipper n.¹, nipper v.¹ slang. Obsolete. transitive. To take into custody. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)] at-holda1230 attacha1325 resta1325 takec1330 arrest1393 restay?a1400 tachec1400 seisinc1425 to take upa1438 stowc1450 seize1471 to lay (also set, clap, etc.) (a person) by the heels?1515 deprehend1532 apprehend1548 nipa1566 upsnatcha1566 finger1572 to make stay of1572 embarge1585 cap1590 reprehend1598 prehenda1605 embar1647 nap1665 nab1686 bone1699 roast1699 do1784 touch1785 pinch1789 to pull up1799 grab1800 nick1806 pull1811 hobble1819 nail1823 nipper1823 bag1824 lag1847 tap1859 snaffle1860 to put the collar on1865 copper1872 to take in1878 lumber1882 to pick up1887 to pull in1893 lift1923 drag1924 to knock off1926 to put the sleeve on1930 bust1940 pop1960 vamp1970 1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang 126 My eyes, if Bill Soames warn't nippered only for a fogle little better than a wipe. 1832 Lincoln Herald 18 Sept. 2/4 You had better nash (go away) unless you want to be nippered (taken into custody). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online September 2021). † nipperv.³ Origin: An imitative or expressive formation. Etymology: Imitative. Compare whitter n.¹Compare nitter, recorded in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. in England (midlands), Scotland, and northern Ireland in the sense ‘to be constantly grumbling or muttering complaints’. Obsolete. rare. intransitive. To whisper, to gossip. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > conversation > converse [verb (intransitive)] > gossip talea1225 talk1461 twittle1551 tattle1581 clasha1689 fetch-and-carry1770 gammer1788 chit-chat1821 rumour1832 nipper1840 coffee-house1861 cooze1870 chopse1879 skinder1942 scuttlebutt1945 to talk trash1947 gyaff1976 gist1992 tongue-wag- 1840 Lady C. M. C. Bury Hist. Flirt xxviii What are you and the major ‘nippering’ about? This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2021). < n.¹1535n.²1844n.³1886v.¹1794v.²1823v.³1840
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