caper C2+ Topic:People & Society US /ˈkeɪpɚ/ UK /ˈkeɪpə/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a playful leap or madcap escapade; to skip about merrily The lambs capered across the spring meadow. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a playful leap or madcap... frolicgambolrompescapadeprankanticcavort Word family Derived forms capering Etymology AI details Probably a shortening of capriole ('a leap'), from Italian capriola ('a leap, somersault'), literally 'a goat-leap', from Latin caper ('goat'). caper Middle French View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # caper **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈkeɪpɚ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkeɪpə/ ## Meanings 1. a playful leap or madcap escapade; to skip about merrily ## Examples - The lambs capered across the spring meadow. ## Synonyms - frolic - gambol - romp - escapade - prank - antic - cavort ## Derived Forms - capering ## Roots and Affixes - Root: caper ## Etymology Probably a shortening of capriole ('a leap'), from Italian capriola ('a leap, somersault'), literally 'a goat-leap', from Latin caper ('goat'). ## AI Etymology Caper is probably a shortening of capriole ('a leap'), from Italian capriola ('a leap, somersault'), literally 'a goat-leap', from Latin caper ('goat'). The historical trail runs through caper in Latin. Used as a noun and verb, caper now means "a playful leap or madcap escapade; to skip about merrily", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as capering. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English. ## Topics - People & Society - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown