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An American visiting Scotland once reported to The New York Times that "a kipper is prepared by taking a herring fresh (no more than 24 hours out of the water), plump, oily (15 percent or more fat content is best), soaking it in a saltwater brine and smoking it slowly over a fire composed of oak chips." This process of creating a kipper (called kippering) goes back to at least the 18th century, but the word kipper dates all the way back to before the 12th century, when it was spelled cypera and was used specifically to mean "a spawning salmon." Cypera is related to the Old English word for copper (coper) and may have been suggested by the salmon's color.
Examples of kipper in a Sentence
Lindsey Desoto, Rd, Health, 9 Sep. 2024
That same month Özer was born, a charismatic orator with a sympathetic gaze and push-broom mustache began campaigning through Istanbul’s streets in a paisley kipper tie.
—Leif Wenar, WIRED, 2 Apr. 2024
At the dining table, Bella childishly flings kippers at Max.
—Craigh Barboza, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Feb. 2024
There was English kippers and eggs a la Danny Kaye and Strawberries Heston with sour cream and honey for Charlton Heston.
—Pat Saperstein, Variety, 16 Oct. 2023
Miamians dressed well, for Miami Joe dressed well, his purple suits—solid, or with pinstripes of different widths—masterfully tailored, complemented by his collection of short, fat kipper ties.
—Colson Whitehead, The New Yorker, 19 July 2021
This is why, even as Brexiters like U.K Prime Minister Boris Johnson bash regulations for everything from kippers to socks, the FCA still thinks everything’s peachy with the new rules on investment research.
—Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2019
British kipper manufacturers, Johnson said, were having their costs unfairly pushed up by E.U. regulations.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 24 July 2019
Janelle Bitker, SFChronicle.com, 6 Nov. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Kipper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kipper. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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