kipper

Definition

A split, salted and smoked herring or salmon.

Etymology

From Old English cypera (“male salmon”), perhaps related to Old English coper (“reddish-brown metal”) (see copper), on resemblance of color. Another theory connects it to kip (“sharp, hooked lower jaw of the male salmon in breeding season”), from Middle English kippen (“to seize, snatch”), but OED doubts this.

Example Sentences

• "Kipper, I discovered, was airman's slang for a fishing boat. The chief function of this particular station was the escorting of convoys and fishing fleets, and the section which had the latter duty to perform was known as the ‘Kipper Patrol’."
• "Kipper-kites, aircraft engaged on convoy escort duties over the North Sea and usually giving protection to the fishing-vessels."
• "As she was only crawling along I aimed my first ‘kipper’ just a fraction ahead of her bows."