Houper

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A craftsman who makes or fits the metal or wooden hoops that bind the staves of a barrel or cask
2. Someone who fashions and attaches the bands that hold a barrel's wooden staves together
3. A tradesman, similar to a cooper, who works on the hoops encircling casks and barrels

Etymology: A "houper" is best understood as a spelling variant of "hooper," a person who makes or fits the iron or wooden hoops that bind barrels and casks. The word is built from "hoop," the ring itself, plus the agent ending "-er," the same pattern that gives us "baker" and "cooper." Because the trade was once common, the term also became a surname, and "Hooper" is still a familiar family name in England and the United States. The spelling with "ou" reflects older and regional variation in how the vowel was written, and is less common today.