cooper
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
"stout half-and-half," i.e., half stout and half porter. Derived from the coopers at breweries being allowed so much stout and so much porter a day, which they take mixed.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “cooper” mean?
"stout half-and-half," i.e., half stout and half porter. Derived from the coopers at breweries being allowed so much stout and so much porter a day, which they take mixed.
Is “cooper” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.