Forms: 4 cropere, -ore, -our, -ier, 4–5 -ure, 4–6 croper, 5 croppere, croupere, cruppure, cruper, 5–8 crouper, crowper, 6 cropar, 6–7 cropper, crooper, 7 croaper, (crupyard), 6– crupper. [a. OF. cropiere (Anglo-Fr. cropere), mod.F. croupière = Pr. cropiera, Sp. gropera, It. groppiera (Rom. type *groppāria, -eria), f. med.L. and It. groppa, Pr. cropa, OF. crope, crupe, mod. croupe: see CROUP.]
1. A leathern strap buckled to the back of the saddle and passing under the horse’s tail, to prevent the saddle from slipping forwards.
c. 1300. K. Alis., 3421. Mony trappe, mony croper, Mony queyntise on armes clere.
1470–85. Malory, Arthur, VII. xvi. The paytrellys sursenglys and crowpers braste.
1523. Fitzherb., Husb., § 105. Hurte with a saddle, or with a buckle of a croper.
1672. Marvell, Reh. Transp., I. 14. The Preface might have past as well for a Postscript, or the Headstall for a Crooper.
1779. Sheridan, Critic, II. ii. His accoutrements, from the bit to the crupper.
1876. World, V. 14. Tight reins, tight cruppers, tight curbs … are the refuges of incompetence.
2. transf. The hind-quarters or rump of a horse; the croup.
[c. 1386. Chaucer, Can. Yeom. Prol. & T., 13. A Male tweyfoold vpon his croper.]
1591. Harrington, Orl. Fur., XLVI. c. (R.). And both gaue strokes so sound, As made both horses cruppers kisse the ground.
1598. Florio, Langio, a disease in a horse about the crupper [1611 in a horses crupper].
1632. J. Hayward, trans. Biondi’s Eromena, 29. They must have taken them up behind them on their horse croppers.
1797. Sporting Mag., X. 295. The Crupper, which is round, and reaches from the kidneys to the tail.
1852. Th. Ross, trans. Humboldt’s Trav., I. viii. 283. The mules lowered their cruppers and slid down the steepest slopes.
† b. The rear (of a horse). On the crupper: in the rear, close behind (one’s horse). Obs.
1627. Lisander & Cal., VI. 98–9. Cloridon fearing the shock, & desirous to get the crupper of his enemies horse, turned his own speedily to shun the shock of Lisanders.
1721. De Foe, Mem. Cavalier (1840), 65. The king follows them on the crupper with thirteen troops of horse.
3. The buttocks (of a man). Usually humorous.
1594. Nashe, Unfort. Trav., 71. A close-bellied dublet comming downe … as farre as the crupper.
1630. B. Jonson, New Inn, III. i. He cuts me a back caper with his heels, and takes me just o’ the crupper.
1664. Cotton, Scarron., 104. There as she sate upon her crupper.
1842. Barham, Ingol. Leg., Ingol. Penance. The Knight on his crupper Received the first taste of the Father’s flagellum.
† b. A hind-quarter, haunch (as a joint of meat). Obs.
1725. Bradley, Fam. Dict., s.v. Mutton, Take a Crupper of … Mutton. Ibid., s.v. Veal, A Quarter or Crupper of Veal.
4. a. Naut. = crupper-chain: see 5. b. (See quot. 1867.)
c. 1860. H. Stuart, Seaman’s Catech., 74. The heel of the jib-boom has … a notch for the crupper.
1867. Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., Crupper, the train tackle ring-bolt in a gun-carriage.
5. Comb., as † crupper-bone, -compliment, -evil; crupper-cramped, -galled adjs.; crupper-chain, Naut. (see quot. 1882); † crupper-clout, a clout or cloth to cover the posteriors; crupper-dock, -loop, that part of the crupper which passes under the horse’s tail.
a. 1652. Brome, Queen & Concubine, III. iv. My Back and *Crupper-bone is out of joynt.
1882. Syd. Soc. Lex., Crupper bone, the coccyx.
1882. Nares, Seamanship (ed. 6), 13. *Crupper chain, a chain passed round the bowsprit and the heel of jib-boom to secure the latter down in its saddle.
1647. R. Stapylton, Juvenal, xiv. 665. [He] puts about His naked middle a cold *crupper-clout.
1630. B. Jonson, New Inn, III. i. I love no *crupper-compliments. [He had just received a kick on the posteriors.]
1641. Brome, Joviall Crew, III. Wks. 1873, III. 395. I am … so *crupper-crampt with our hard lodging.
1794. W. Felton, Carriages (1801), II. 133. The *Crupper-dock is mostly stuffed with a tallow candle to make it easy for the horse’s tail.
1611. Cotgr., Le mal de cropion, the Rumpe-euill or *Crupper-euill.
1689. Lond. Gaz., No. 2486/4. A dark brown Horse … *Crupper-galled.
1874. Knight, Dict. Mech., s.v. Crupper, The rounded portion EB is the *crupper-loop.
