Word of the Week: dapper

A few weeks ago, I befriended an awesome Norwegian girl named Celine, while we were being photographed for a top-secret project. It will surely reshape the hair salon industry as we know it, but I can’t tell you anything about it because I signed one of those non-disclosure agreements. Too bad! Since our fated meeting, Celine has been nice enough to visit me in TriBeCa during my lunch break and of course, I dragged Allie along with me! Over smoothies, salads, and sandwiches, an idea was born. Word of the week! Celine’s English is exceptional and she has an adorable accent to boot, but Allie and I decided to teach her a few of our favorite words to spice it up a bit.

We were brainstorming about what new words we could pepper into Celine’s already impeccable vocabulary. I looked down at my new Gunmetal tweed kicks, an incredible thrift store find, and it dawned on me. The word of the week is “dapper”.

Dapper
dap・per
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English dapyr, from Middle Dutch dapper quick, strong; akin to Old High German tapfar heavy, Old Church Slavic debelu thick
Date: 15th century

1a : neat and trim in appearance
2 : alert and lively in movement and manners

Related forms:
dap・per・ly, adverb
dap・per・ness, noun

Synonyms:
dashing, spruce, modish, jaunty, natty.

Used in a sentence: Ezra Koenig was looking very dapper in a button down shirt and an argyle sweater vest.

Used in a song: “I'm no high society man/ No suit and tie, no Dapper Dan” – from the song Caveman, by Cursive  mp3

Dapper website: Check out my pal, Lily's Etsy, Supper Club. With neckties like these, you'll be looking dapper in no time.

Examples of some of our favorite dapper fellows:


*Special thanks to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, Dictonary.com, Theimproper.com, and Caymansgirl.blogspot.com for the images and definitions used in this post.