kippered
kippered is the simple past and past participle of kipper.
Adjective
kippered (comparative more kippered, superlative most kippered)
- Stiff and lacking vitality; stale.
- Our writers of history have been aroused from “ their somnolent antiquarian busy-work on kippered events and are feeling the force of living ones and learning what it means to get in the study of the present inspiration and interest for assimilating a knowledge of the past.1927, Ralph W. Pringle, Methods with Adolescents, page 253
- At first I thought perhaps my students were writing this kind of kippered prose because they were attempting scenes and subjects that they knew nothing about.1963, William Henry Hills, Robert Luce, The Writer - Volume 76
- Worn out; tired.
- Cigar clenched between his knuckles, Johnnie Whiteside patted Gordon's knee. 'How d'you feel, old spud?' 'Slightly kippered,' Gordon answered. 'Not too kippered?' said Eric.2012, Jessica Stirling, The Asking Price
- He was done for, you know . . . quite kippered . . . The General's words dinned in his brain.2015, Leon Garfield, The Drummer Boy, page 85
Meaning of kipper
Verb
kipper (third-person singular simple present kippers, present participle kippering, simple past and past participle kippered)
- To prepare (a herring or similar fish) by splitting, salting, and smoking.
- There was kippered salmon, and Finnan haddocks, and a lamb's head, and a haggis[…]1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 49, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC
- To damage or treat with smoke.
- "Your own fault. Did you imagine I was going to live on a gasring, because you wouldn't have your chimney repaired?" Then Diva got a tenant in spite of the kippered bathroom, and moved to a dilapidated hovel close beside the railway line, which she got for half the rent which she received for her...1935, Edward Frederic Benson, The Worshipful Lucia, page 252
- To dry out with heat or harsh chemicals; to desiccate.
- She was the daintiest and most exquisite little figure imaginable, never did she stir out of doors without layers of veil to protect her from the kippering effects of sun and wind, and she preserved untouched by unguents or “mess” the complexion of a girl, smooth and soft and unwrinkled.1930, E. F. Benson, As We Were - A Victorian Peep Show
- To drink or give a drink of alcohol, especially to intoxication.
- No man should appear at his day's labors unless well kippered. May I kipper you, madam ”1995, Anne Douglas, Miss Caroline's Deception, page 106
- To punish by spanking or caning.
- Where of old, with awful mysteries and diabolic din, They “kippered” adolescents in the presence of their kin1902, James Brunton Stephens, The Poetical Works, page 262
- To lead astray or frame; to cause to get into trouble.
- As for Mr. Mowbray you must know that he is not only the chief plotter, inventor, and spreader abroad of all these base calumnies, but he did also, like a fool, vent before his going home, to one whom he though had not been my friend, that he had taken notes of all words spoken by me in Scotland...1877, William Douglas Hamilton, Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, page 511
Forms of kippered
| comparative | more kippered |
|---|---|
| superlative | most kippered |
Words formed from kippered
Questions about kippered
- What does kippered mean?
- Kippered means stiff and lacking vitality; stale.
- What is kippered the simple past and past participle of?
- Kippered is the simple past and past participle of kipper.
- What part of speech is kippered?
- Kippered is an adjective.
Words near kippered in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: kippered (page history and authors); kipper (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “kippered.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kippered. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.