Word
rupert
Phoneticsru·pert
/ˈɹupɝt/
Definitions
01male name
n. A traditional male first name.
n. A male given name of Germanic origin, cognate with Robert.
“Rupert is a very traditional name in some parts of England.”
“The biography of Rupert Brooke provides a fascinating insight into the lives of the young poets during the First World War.”
02junior officer
n. A rude word used by soldiers for a young officer who is rich or upper-class but not very good at his job.
n. A derogatory term for a junior army officer, typically one perceived as having an upper-class background and lacking practical experience or common sense.
“The soldiers complained about the new Rupert who didn't know how to read a map.”
“The veteran sergeants had little patience for the latest Rupert assigned to their unit, whose posh accent and lack of tactical awareness were immediate targets for mockery.”
British English · Slang · Informal
Usage
Usually used by non-commissioned officers or private soldiers to refer to their superiors behind their backs.
Teaching tip
This is highly specific to British military culture; using it in a general context would likely be misunderstood or seen as oddly specific jargon.
Synonyms
Etymology
A German name, brought to England by Prince Rupert of the Rhine in the seventeenth century. Doublet of Robert. The geometry sense is also a reference to Prince Rupert, who posed the question of whether a cube could be passed through a hole made in another cube of the same size.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/rupert