Etymologically
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cooper

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:32. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkuːpə(ɹ)/ (UK); /ˈkupɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English couper, cowper, probably borrowed from Middle Dutch cūper or kūper,[2][3][4][5] from cūpe (“cask, tub, vat”), from Latin cūpa (“cask”) (see coop and cup);[6][7][2] Etymonline allows an unrecorded Old English word,[7] and Barnhart treats it as an early borrowing of Latin cūpārius.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A craftsman who makes casks and tubs: the late 14th century in Etymonline,[7] before 1376 as coupere in a version of Piers Plowman in Barnhart,[6] about 1415 in the OED.[8] As a surname, Cupere, it is from 1176.[6][7]

Semantic evolution

A wine merchant or one who samples and bottles wine is from 1465,[8] and a ship's cooper, who repairs casks on board, from 1627.[8] The OED distinguishes the dry cooper, who makes casks for dry goods, the wet cooper, for liquids, and the white cooper, for pails and dairy tubs.[7] In London a mixture of stout and porter was called cooper (1871).[8] The verb, to make or mend casks, is from 1746.[7] The surname Cowper, pronounced cooper, keeps a 15th-century spelling.[7]

Timeline

  • 1176 – Cupere, as a surname.[6]
  • late 14th century – a maker of casks.[7][6]
  • 1465 – a wine merchant.[8]
  • 1746 – the verb.[7]
  • 1871 – stout and porter mixed.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who makes or repairs barrels, casks and tubs.

Verb

  1. To make or repair barrels and casks.

Word family

  • cooperage
  • uncoopered
  • coopery
  • undercooper

Usage notes

MWU also has an unrelated cooper, a ship selling liquor to fishermen at sea, probably from Dutch kooper (“buyer”).[2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press