Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1825-1858, 1931
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HIPPERTIE, adj., v. Also hipperty. [′hɪpərte]
I. adj. Found only in reduplic. combs.: 1. hipperty-skipperty, light, frivolous, frisky; also adv. (Slk. 1825 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Kcd. 1957); 2. hippertie-tippertie, id., "quick and rattling in . . . rhythm", of a song or tune; †affectedly exact or neat (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.).1. Slk. 1834 Hogg in Pearson's 81st Catalog. (1900) 16:
What a strange, hipperty-skipperty letter [of Burns] this is to Ainslie!Abd. 1931 D. Campbell Uncle Andie 6:
An' a bonnie fricht ye wad mak' rinnin' aboot hipperty-skipperty wi' clootie clippin's roon yer middle.2. Rxb. 1825 Jam., s.v. Nipperty-tipperty:
Hippertie-tippertie is the pronunciation in Rxb. . . . It is applied, . . . to a light unstable person; as, "a hipperty-tippertie lass."
II. v. To hop, skip (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.).s.Sc. 1858 H. S. Riddell Song of Solomon ii. 8:
He cums loupin' apon the mountans, hippertiein' apon the hills.
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"Hippertie adj., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 3 Aug 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/hippertie>
