Rapper

How to spell rapper

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce rapper

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does rapper mean?

1. nounA performer who delivers rhymed lyrics rhythmically over a musical beat.

Rapper in a sentence

• The rapper took the stage and began his verse over a heavy bassline.

• Every rapper in the lineup wrote their own lyrics for the festival.

Where does rapper come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word grows from the verb 'rap', which in Old English and Middle English meant simply to strike a sharp, quick blow, an imitative word that echoes the sound of knocking. By the 1500s 'rap' had also taken on the figurative sense of speaking sharply or rattling off words quickly, and this 'talking' meaning survived in slang for centuries, as in to 'take the rap' or to have a friendly 'rap' with someone. In African American vernacular of the mid twentieth century 'rapping' came to mean fluent, rhythmic, persuasive talk, and when this spoken style was set over beats in the 1970s, the musical genre of rap was born. A 'rapper', then, is literally one who raps, and the agent suffix '-er' simply names the doer. The single root vowel doubles its 'p' before the suffix because English doubles a final consonant after a short stressed vowel, which is also why this word sounds exactly like 'wrapper' and is so easily confused with it in writing.

How the word is built

• rap (to strike or talk in rhythm)
• -er (agent suffix: one who does)

Words that sound like rapper

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• wrapper: A piece of paper, plastic, or foil that covers or encloses a product.