different between dapper vs dandy

English

Etymology

From Middle English daper (“pretty, neat”), from Middle Dutch dapper (“stalwart, nimble”), Old Dutch *dapar, from Proto-Germanic *dapraz (“stout; solid; heavy; bold”) (compare German tapfer "bold", Norwegian daper "saddened, dreary"), from Proto-Indo-European *d?eb- ‘thick, heavy’ (compare Tocharian A tpär ‘high’, Latvian dàbls ‘strong’, Serbo-Croatian ????? (dèbeo) ‘fat’).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?dæp?(?)/
• Rhymes: -æp?(r)

Adjective

dapper (comparative dapperer, superlative dapperest)

1. Neat, trim.
   • 1892, Henry Seton Merriman, The Slave Of The Lamp:

     This entrance is through a little courtyard, in which is the stable and coach-house combined, where Madame Perinere, a lady who paints the magic word "Modes" beneath her name on the door-post of number seventeen, keeps the dapper little cart and pony which carry her bonnets to the farthest corner of Paris.

2. Stylishly dressed, neatly dressed, spiffy.
   • 1917, P. G. Wodehouse, The Man With Two Left Feet:

     Going down the street, you would meet a typical commercial traveller, dapper and alert.

3. Quick; little and active.

Derived terms

• Dapper Dan

Translations

Anagrams

• Eppard, adprep, parped, rapped

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch dapper, from Middle Dutch dapper, from Old Dutch *dappar, from Proto-Germanic *dapraz.

Adjective

dapper (attributive dappere, comparative dapperder, superlative dapperste)

1. brave, courageous

Derived terms

• dapperheid

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch dapper, from Old Dutch *dappar, from Proto-Germanic *dapraz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?.p?r/
• Hyphenation: dap?per
• Rhymes: -?p?r

Adjective

dapper (comparative dapperder, superlative dapperst)

1. brave, courageous

Inflection

Derived terms

• dapperheid
• verdapperen

Descendants

• Afrikaans: dapper

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots dandy (“a fop; one who is well-dressed”). Of uncertain origin.

Possibly from Dandy, a diminutive of Andrew, yet the Scots word is used also in reference to women. Alternatively, possibly a back-formation of Scots dandilly, dandillie (“one who is spoiled or pampered; a "pet"”). Compare English dandle and dander.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?dændi/
• Rhymes: -ændi

Noun

dandy (plural dandies)

1. A man very concerned about his physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dandy
2. (Britain, nautical) A yawl, or a small after-sail on a yawl.
3. A dandy roller.

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Dutch: dandy
• ? Finnish: dandy
• ? French: dandy
• ? German: Dandy
• ? Polish: dandy
• ? Spanish: dandy

See also

• boulevardier
• man about town

Translations

Adjective

dandy (comparative dandier, superlative dandiest)

1. Like a dandy, foppish.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:foppish

2. Very good; better than expected but not as good as could be.

   Synonyms: all very well, well and good

3. Excellent; first-rate.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:excellent

Translations

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English dandy.

Pronunciation

• (Netherlands) IPA^(key): /?d?n.di/
• Hyphenation: dan?dy

Noun

dandy m (plural dandy's, diminutive dandy'tje n)

1. dandy

   Synonyms: fat, pronker

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from English dandy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?dændi/, [?dændi]

Noun

dandy

1. dandy

Declension

French

Etymology

English dandy

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??.di/

Noun

dandy m (plural dandys or dandies)

1. dandy

Further reading

• “dandy” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Spanish

Alternative forms

• dandi

Etymology

Borrowed from English dandy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?dandi/, [?d?ãn?.d?i]

Noun

dandy m (plural dandys)

1. dandy

Further reading

• “dandi” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.