skipper

Etymology 1

From Middle English skippere, skyppere, scippere, borrowed from Middle Dutch scipper, schipper, from Old Dutch *skipāri, from Proto-Germanic *skipārijaz.

noun

1. (nautical) The master of a ship.
2. A coach, director, or other leader.
3. (sports) The captain of a sports team such as football, cricket, rugby or curling.
   But even the return of skipper Steven Gerrard from a six-week injury layoff could not inspire Liverpool December 29, 2010, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC

verb

1. (transitive) To captain a ship or a sports team.
   Tourist subs, which could once be skippered by anyone with a U.S. Coast Guard captain’s license 2019, Tony Perrottet, “A Deep Dive Into the Plans to Take Tourists to the ‘Titanic’”, in Smithsonian Magazine

Etymology 2

From Middle English skippere, skyppare, equivalent to skip + -er.

noun

1. Agent noun of skip: one who skips.
2. A person who skips, or fails to attend class.
3. (sports) One who jumps rope.
4. Any of various butterflies of the families Hesperiidae and its subfamily Megathyminae, having a hairy mothlike body, hooked tips on the antennae, and a darting flight pattern.
   Blue skippers in sunny hours ope and shut Where wormwood and grunsel flowers by the cart ruts […] c. 1864, John Clare, We passed by green closes
5. Any of several marine fishes that often leap above water, especially Cololabis saira, the Pacific saury.
6. (obsolete) A young, thoughtless person.
7. The cheese maggot, the larva of a cheese fly (family Piophilidae), which leaps to escape predators.

Etymology 3

Probably from Welsh ysgubor (“a barn”).

noun

1. A barn or shed in which to shelter for the night.

verb

1. (intransitive) To take shelter in a barn or shed.