Chipper

Posted by James Briggs on July 08, 2004

In Reply to: Chipper posted by Lotg (OZ) on July 08, 2004

: I was about to email my big yank today and tell him I'm feeling rather 'chipper' today, when it occurred to me that it's a funny word really.

: Terribly British of course. But why would such a word describe the rather cheerful way I'm feeling? Why chipper?

My Dictionary of Slang says the 'adectival variant is of US origin (late 19C)' based on the same word when used as a early-mid 19C noun for a cheerful, lively young man. No origin is given.