skippern.1
/ˈskɪpə/, U.S. /ˈskɪpər/ 1.
a. One who or that which skips or jumps.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > leaping, springing, or jumping > [noun] > leaping lightly or skipping > one who or that which
skipperc1440
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 458/1 Skyppare, saltator, saltatrix.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 271/1 Skyppar, saultevr.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 264 Many a time the fishers twitch vp their hooks, and see a number of these skippers [fleas] and creepers [lice] setled thicke about their baits which they laied for fishes.
1663 J. Beale Let. 14 Dec. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) II. 233 He did soe, & preserved his gardens & destroyd all these skippers and crawlers, & was never after molested with such an uggly visite.
b. Applied contemptuously to a youth. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > young person > youth or young man > [noun]
frumberdlingc1000
young manOE
childc1225
hind1297
pagec1300
youtha1325
fawnc1369
swainc1386
stripling1398
boy1440
springaldc1450
jovencel1490
younkera1522
speara1529
gorrel1530
lad1535
hobbledehoy1540
cockerel1547
waga1556
spring1559
loonc1560
hensure1568
youngster1577
imp1578
pigsney1581
cocklinga1586
demy1589
muchacho1591
shaver1592
snipper-snappera1593
callant1597
spaught1598
stubble boy1598
ghillie1603
codling1612
cuba1616
skippera1616
man-boy1637
sprig1646
callow1651
halflang1660
stubbed boy1683
gossoon1684
gilpie1718
stirraha1722
young lion1792
halfling1794
pubescent1795
young man1810
sixteener1824
señorito1843
tad1845
boysie1846
shaveling1854
ephebe1880
boychick1921
lightie1946
young blood1967
studmuffin1986
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 335 Tra. Gray-beard thy loue doth freeze. Gre. But thine doth frie, Skipper stand backe, 'tis age that nourisheth. View more context for this quotation
2. spec. As a name for various insects:† a. A locust. Obsolete. rare.attributive.1903 A. C. P. Haggard Sporting Yarns 126 A butterfly of the skipper tribe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Orthoptera > family Locustidae > member of (locust)
grasshopOE
langustec1200
skippera1325
locustc1350
honeysucklea1387
honeysucka1398
lungoutec1485
grasshopper1526
acrida1557
ophiomach1609
locustid1878
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3087 Ðis wind hem brogte ðe skipperes, He deden on gres and coren deres.
1599 T. Moffett Silkewormes 25 Springs not from egges that..bloudy Crocodile, Fish, Lyzards, Snakes, and Skippers African?
b. A skipjack or spring-beetle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Diversicornia > family Elateridae > member of (click-beetle)
snap-beetle1698
spring beetle1782
skipper1796
elater1813
skipjack1817
snap-bug1834
click1848
snapping beetle (or bug, jack)1861
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 225 Skipper, Elater oculatus.
1803 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. III. 232 The Night-Shining Skipper... In the Savannas of most of the warmer parts of America, these insects are to be seen in great abundance.
c. A butterfly of the family Hesperiidæ.Also used with various distinguishing epithets, as chequered skipper, clouded skipper, dingy skipper, Lulworth skipper, pearl skipper, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Hesperidae > member of (skipper)
skipper1817
Hesperian1869
Hesperiid1889
1817 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1818) II. xxiii. 305 A butter~fly, called by Aurelians ‘The large skipper’ (Hesperia Sylvanus, F.), when it alights..always turns half-way round.
1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 314 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV The family of skippers, Hesperians, are rather small, thick~bodied butterflies, having the antennæ hooked at the end like a shepherd's crook.
1896 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. VI. 92 To Pamphila and the following genera belong all the small, quick-flying butterflies, known as the skippers, properly so called.
d. dialect and U.S. A cheese-maggot, or other small maggot, etc., of similar habits.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > larva > small
skipper1828
1828–32 in N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang.
3. spec. As a fish-name:
a. The saury pike.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Atheriniformes > [noun] > member of family Scomberesocidae (sauries)
skipper1674
skopstera1705
ladyfish1712
saury1771
1674 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Words 104 Skipper, Acus minor.
a1705 J. Ray Synopsis Avium & Piscium (1713) ii. 109 In Mari Britannico duæ Acus species inveniuntur, ut nobis retulerunt piscatores Cornubienses, quarum alteri Girrocks, alteri Skippers nomen indiderunt.
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes I. 394 The Saury Pike. Skipper, Scomberesox saurus.
1865 J. Couch Hist. Fishes Brit. Islands IV. 141 Skipper..is a migratory fish, which comes to our coasts at the beginning of summer.
b. The hopping-fish of Australia.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > unspecified types > [noun]
whalec950
tumbrelc1300
sprout1340
squame1393
codmop1466
whitefish1482
lineshark?a1500
salen1508
glaucus1509
bretcock1522
warcodling1525
razor1530
bassinatc1540
goldeney1542
smy1552
maiden1555
grail1587
whiting1587
needle1589
pintle-fish1591
goldfish1598
puffin fish1598
quap1598
stork1600
black-tail1601
ellops1601
fork-fish1601
sea-grape1601
sea-lizard1601
sea-raven1601
barne1602
plosher1602
whale-mouse1607
bowman1610
catfish1620
hog1620
kettle-fish1630
sharpa1636
carda1641
housewifea1641
roucotea1641
ox-fisha1642
sea-serpent1646
croaker1651
alderling1655
butkin1655
shamefish1655
yard1655
sea-dart1664
sea-pelican1664
Negro1666
sea-parrot1666
sea-blewling1668
sea-stickling1668
skull-fish1668
whale's guide1668
sennet1671
barracuda1678
skate-bread1681
tuck-fish1681
swallowtail1683
piaba1686
pit-fish1686
sand-creeper1686
horned hog1702
soldier1704
sea-crowa1717
bran1720
grunter1726
calcops1727
bennet1731
bonefish1734
Negro fish1735
isinglass-fish1740
orb1740
gollin1747
smelt1776
night-walker1777
water monarch1785
hardhead1792
macaw-fish1792
yellowback1796
sea-raven1797
blueback1812
stumpnose1831
flat1847
butterfish1849
croppie1856
gubbahawn1857
silt1863
silt-snapper1863
mullet-head1866
sailor1883
hogback1893
skipper1898
stocker1904
1898 E. E. Morris Austral Eng. 419.
4. One who omits passages in reading.Cf. the earlier overskipper (1377) and forskipper.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > reading > reader > [noun] > skimmer or browser
skimmer1751
dipper1824
skipper1824
browser1863
skip-reader1973
1824 S. Ferrier Inheritance II. xxxiv. 374 He never had skipped in his life, and had such a thorough contempt for skippers.
1856 Titan Mag. Nov. 415/1 Our service is spoil'd by..The trippers—the clippers—the impudent skippers.
1888 Athenæum 11 Feb. 178/1 He has..compiled a useful and interesting monograph, especially for the judicious skipper.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
skippern.2
/ˈskɪpə/, U.S. /ˈskɪpər/ 1. figurative.1673 Bp. S. Parker Reproof Rehearsal Transprosed 481 As if you were the Skipper of the State.in combination.1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) iv. 25 Here he lived too, in skipper-like state, all alone with his nephew Walter.
a. The captain or master of ship, esp. of a small trading, merchant, or fishing vessel; †a shipman, seaman.In the 15th and 16th cent. chiefly in Scottish use.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun]
shipmanc900
seamanOE
buscarlOE
shipperc1100
ship-gumec1275
marinerc1300
skipper1390
marinela1400
waterman1421
maryneller1470
seafarer1513
sea-fardingera1550
navigator1574
marinec1575
sailer1585
Triton1589
Neptunist1593
canvas-climber1609
sea-crab1609
tar-lubber1610
Neptunian1620
salt-rover1620
sailora1642
tarpaulin1647
otter1650
water dog1652
tarpauliana1656
Jack1659
tar1676
sea-animal1707
Jack tar1709
sailor-man1761
tarry-breeks1786
hearty1790
ocean-farera1806
tarry-jacket1822
Jacky1826
nautical1831
salt water1839
matelotc1847
knight of the tar-brush1866
main-yard man1867
gobby1883
tarry-John1888
blue jersey1889
lobscouser1889
flat-foot1897
handyman1899
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun] > captain or master
skipper1390
master shipmana1393
master mariner?a1400
shipmanc1405
shipmasterc1440
commanderc1450
patron1490
shipper1496
ship-governor1526
reis1585
nakhoda?1606
sea-captain1612
malem1615
manjee1683
captain1705
patroon1719
old man1821
owner1903
1390 Earl Derby's Exped. (Camd.) 37 Item Herman, skypper de Dansk.
1496 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 310 The skippar of the schip callit the Ros.
1506 in J. D. Marwick Charters Edinb. (1871) 190 That na skipperis nor maisters of schippis saill furth of our realme [etc.].
1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. D My rapier pendant like a round sticke fastned in the tacklings for skippers the better to climbe by.
1624 in W. Foster Eng. Factories India 1624–9 (1909) 19 The murder of one of our people ther by a scipper of theirs.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia at Scipper But we usually take Skippers for common Seamen or Mariners.
1677 W. Hubbard Narr. Troubles with Indians New-Eng. ii. 65 Eight of them went a shore, leaving two Indians aboord with the English Skipper.
1721 A. Ramsay Prospect of Plenty 154 The north-sea skippers are leal~hearted men.
1767 T. Hutchinson Hist. Province Massachusets-Bay, 1691–1750 i. 110 A French man of war..met one of our fishing vessels..[and] sent for the skipper to come on board.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. iii. 56 A rank, as well as manners, highly superior to the skippers, (or Captains, as they called themselves,) of merchant vessels.
1878 W. S. Jevons Polit. Econ. 29 The skipper starts when wind and tide are in his favour.
b. skipper's daughters, high white-crested waves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > types of waves > [noun] > white-crested
whitecap1773
white horse1805
seahorse1877
skipper's daughters1888
wave-horse1888
1888 R. L. Stevenson in Scribner's Mag. Nov. 638/1 Out in the open there were ‘skipper's daughters’.
2. The captain or director of a sporting team or side.In curling and bowling the Scottish term is now skip n.3, which is also used generally as a colloquial abbrevation.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun] > leader of side or club
captain1823
skipper1830
protagonist1894
1830 Memorab. Curl. Maben. 100 The sweeping department to be under the exclusive control of the skipper.
1842 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) II. 539/2 The skippers shall have the exclusive regulation and direction of the game [in curling].
1893 Star 30 May 1/7 He..afterwards acted as skipper of the Cambridgeshire Eleven.
3. Gunsmithing. (See quot. 1852.)
ΚΠ
1852 C. Tomlinson Cycl. Useful Arts (1854) I. 821/1 From [the screwer-together the gun] passes to the skipper and finisher, who takes the whole to pieces, and corrects any trifling errors of the preceding workmen.
4. Services' slang. A commanding officer in the army; the captain of an aircraft or squadron.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer or soldier of rank > [noun] > commanding officer
commanding officer1758
thanadar1802
company commander1820
old man1830
C.O.1889
skipper1906
commandant1915
1906 Soldier Slang in C. McGovern Sarjint Larry an' Frinds Skipper, the commanding officer.
1926 Sat. Evening Post 6 Mar. 154/3 The skipper told us to look after yuh.
1929 Papers Michigan Acad. Sci., Arts & Lett. 10 323 Skipper, the squadron commander in the Royal Naval Air Service.
1958 P. Kemp No Colours or Crest v. 86 The Skipper wondered if you'd like to go forward to the flight deck for a look around.
1977 R.A.F. News 11 May 9/1 The headmaster..will join his wartime Whitley skipper, Gp Capt Leonard Cheshire.
5. slang (originally U.S.). A police captain or sergeant; a police chief.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > policeman of specific rank
superintendent1789
police inspector1824
police sergeant1824
sergeant1839
inspector1840
station sergeant1846
detective-sergeant1850
detective-inspector1898
desk sergeant1908
sarge1926
skipper1929
supe1977
1929 G. L. Hostetter & T. Q. Beesley It's a Racket! 238 Skipper, a police captain in command of a police station, bureau, or district.
1930 Amer. Mercury Dec. 457/2 I goes to the skipper and fronts for the mutt.
1962 John o' London's 25 Jan. 82/2 A police sergeant is called skipper.
1976 D. Barnes Yesterday is Dead (1977) ii. 262 Good piece of police work... I'll fill the skipper in. I'm sure he'll be pleased.
Derivatives
ˈskippership n. the office of skipper; the management or handling of a ship.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > [noun]
sailinga900
government1562
navigating1739
skippership1828
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun] > captain or master > office of
skippership1828
1828 Examiner 1/1 If skippership went to the highest bidder,..we should have a still greater proportion of bad pilots.
1894 Daily Chron. 4 Aug. 3/5 In recognition of his skippership of the Trafalgar.
Draft additions 1993
6. Scouting.
a. From 1912, a title for the (adult) leader of a troop of Sea Scouts (after 1949, Sea Explorers in the U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > specific societies or organizations > [noun] > specific youth organizations > members of scouts or guides > adult leader of troop of sea scouts or explorers
skipper1912
1912 W. Baden-Powell Sea Scouting & Seamanship for Boys ii. 28 Officer spoke English to our skipper, but gave boat's crews orders in German.
1929 Handbk. for Scoutmasters xx. 450 The success of the Sea Scout Program is dependent upon the Skipper.
1938 Sea Sense i. 6 The idea of being a ship's crew can be carried out by the Skipper.
b. An adult leader of Girl Scout Mariners (in U.S., 1934 to 1980) or Sea Rangers (in U.K.).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > specific societies or organizations > [noun] > specific youth organizations > members of scouts or guides > adult leader of girl scout mariners
skipper1977
1977 Guider July 331/2 She was a Guider in this Company, a Brown Owl of the first Teignmouth Pack, a Sea Ranger Skipper and a District Commissioner.
1985 S. Jacobson Brit. & Amer. Scouting & Guiding Terminol. ii. 31 In 1934 the Girl Scout Mariner program had been launched... The names for the Troop Leader and her Assistant/s/ were usually ‘Skipper’ and ‘Mate/s/’.
c. colloquial, in extended use: a scoutmaster or troop leader.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > specific societies or organizations > [noun] > specific youth organizations > members of scouts or guides
Boy Scout1908
patrol leader1908
scout1908
scoutmaster1908
tenderfoot1908
captain1909
Girl Guide1909
Girl Scout1909
lieutenant1909
pathfinder1911
sea scout1911
rosebud1914
brownie1916
sixer1916
tenderpad1916
Brown Owl1918
rover1918
Rover Scout1918
ranger1920
tawny owl1921
Cub1922
Akela1924
scouter1930
Guider1931
den mother1936
Queen's Guide1946
Queen's Scout1952
Venture Scout1966
Beaver1975
skipper1986
1986 Scouting Mar. 15/1 He'd asked my ‘Skipper’ whether someone could write an article for The Scout on our Troop's camp.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
skippern.3
Cant.
1. † a. A barn, outhouse, or shed, used as a sleeping-place by vagrants. Obsolete.In later dictionaries.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > hut or hovel > [noun] > used as sleeping-place by vagrants
skipper1567
1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) Peddelars Frenche sig. Giii A skyppar, a barne.
1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) Peddelars Frenche sig. Giiiv I couched a hogeshed in a Skypper this darkemans.
1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew ii. sig. G1 Now let each Tripper Make a retreat into the Skipper.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Skipper, a Barn.
b. Any sleeping-place for a vagrant.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > accommodation or lodging > [noun] > place to sleep
beda1300
bedding1393
libken1567
bedroom1600
snooze1819
pad1914
skipper1925
crash pad1939
1925 Flynn's 3 Jan. 661/2 Skipper,..a lodging house; a tramp.
1935 ‘G. Orwell’ Clergyman's Daughter ii. 101 We ain't got a brown between us, and we..got to tap for our tommy and skipper at nights.
1939 J. Worby Spiv's Progress i. 9 I'm going north. Do you know any good skippers up the road?
1978 Country Life 20 July 189/2 He had painfully to learn the rudiments of vagrant survival; to make sure of his ‘skipper’ or kip before dark.
2. A vagrant; one who sleeps rough.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [noun] > without fixed aim or wandering > vagrancy or vagabondage > vagabond or tramp
harlot?c1225
raikera1400
vacabond1404
vagrant1444
gangrela1450
briber?c1475
palliard1484
vagabondc1485
rogue1489
wavenger1493
hermit1495
gaberlunzie1508
knight of the field1508
loiterer1530
straggler1530
runagate1534
ruffler1535
hedge-creeper1548
Abraham man1567
cursitor1567
runner1567
walker1567
tinker1575
traveller1598
Tartar1602
stravagant1606
wagand1614
Circumcellion1623
meechera1625
hedge-bird1631
gaberlunzie man1649
tramp1664
stroller1681
jockey1685
bird of passage1717
randy1724
tramper1760
stalko1804
vagabondager1813
rintherout1814
piker1838
pikey1838
beachcomber1840
roadster1851
vagabondizer1860
roustabout1862
bum1864
migratory1866
potter1867
sundowner1868
vag1868
walkabout1872
transient1877
Murrumbidgee whaler1878
rouster1882
run-the-hedge1882
whaler1883
shaughraun1884
heather-cat1886
hobo1889
tussocker1889
gay cat1893
overlander1898
stake-man1899
stiff1899
bindle-stiff1900
dingbat1902
stew-bum1902
tired Tim (also Timothy)1906
skipper1925
Strandlooper1927
knight of the road1928
hobohemian1936
plain turkey1955
scrub turkey1955
derro1963
jakey1988
crusty1990
1925 [see sense 1b].
1965 Guardian 9 Dec. 9/1 It was the night of the big Government census of the ‘skippers’—the people who sleep rough.
1977 Listener 28 July 103/3 On the rubble-strewn redevelopment sites of central Glasgow, you find the groups of ‘skippers’, the men who live rough... These are the ones who admit that alcohol has won.
3. An act of sleeping rough; esp. in to do a skipper.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting temporarily > [verb (intransitive)] > sleep rough
to sleep (formerly also live, lie) rough1672
outlie1826
bunk1840
skipper1851
to do a skipper1935
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > an instance or period of > other specific instances
sopor1675
nightmare sleep1829
skipper1935
snore-off1950
1935 H. Neville Sneak Thief on Road 347 Skipper, a liedown in a spinney or anywhere where no rent is paid.
1937 ‘J. Curtis’ You're in Racket, Too i. 9 It would be no fun doing a skipper on a November night.
1962 Observer 11 Mar. 35/1 There are not enough beds. Many will be turned away and have to do a ‘skipper’ in station, park or ruin.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
† skippern.4
Obsolete. rare.
(See quot. 1688.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > [noun] > ladle
ladlea1000
pot-spoon1440
pot-ladle1534
cresser1656
skipper1688
chamcha1832
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xxii. 280/1 A Skipper or Sugar ladle.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
skipperv.1
transitive. To act as skipper or captain of (a vessel, team, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > be in control [verb (intransitive)] > lead
to begin, lead the dancec1325
to take the (or a) lead1745
skipper1883
society > authority > control > [verb (transitive)] > lead
furec1540
subduce1609
ring-lead1617
manuduct1641
lead1642
manuduce1657
bear-lead1833
officer1839
van1852
skipper1883
spear-head1938
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [verb (intransitive)]
skipper1883
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [verb (transitive)]
governa1387
sail1566
manure1569
manage1600
carry1613
navigate1652
work1667
skipper1883
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [verb (transitive)] > act as skipper of team
skipper1950
1893 Westm. Gaz. 25 July 5/2 The former is to skipper his yacht Meteor.
1950 Sport 7 Apr. 14/1 Dick skippered the City side who, in 1938, wrote a chapter of Cup history.
1951 N. M. Gunn Well at World's End xxvi. 239 The idea..was to get the old man to skipper her for a couple of seasons.
1977 R.A.F. News 27 Apr. 5/1 Brian, then a flight lieutenant, had skippered the Sunderland on three flights.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
skipperv.2
Cant.in combination.1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 310/2 Here is the best places in England for ‘skipper-birds’; (parties that never go to lodging-houses, but to barns or outhouses, sometimes without a blanket).
intransitive. To sleep in a barn or outhouse, or in the open. Also with it.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting temporarily > [verb (intransitive)] > sleep rough
to sleep (formerly also live, lie) rough1672
outlie1826
bunk1840
skipper1851
to do a skipper1935
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 478/1 They..frequently ‘skipper it’ in the open air, when the weather is fine and warm.
1894 D. C. Murray Making of Novelist 107 In the language of the road, to sleep in the open is to ‘skipper’.
Draft additions 1993
ˈskippering n.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting a type of place > [noun] > a barn or outhouse
skippering1968
1968 Observer 22 Dec. (Colour Suppl.) 21/1 He has lived in hostels or skippered—lived without visible means of support. ‘My skippering was organized,’ he said.
1983 Daily Tel. 31 Oct. 14/6 No decent woman can get a bed in this town under £7 a night. And the ‘skippering’ allowance paid to vagrants is £2.95 a day.
1987 Economist 26 Dec. 61/3 Most of the advisory services try to persuade young people to get out of central London... They sleep on friends' floors, or resort to ‘skippering’—taking over a deserted house or flat with no furniture and often no lavatories.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
skipperv.3
rare.
intransitive. To skip or hop.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > leaping, springing, or jumping > leap, spring, or jump [verb (intransitive)] > lightly or skip
skipa1300
scopea1400
skipper1845
1845 S. Judd Margaret i. xiv. 105 A grass-finch skippered to the top of a stump.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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