Toper

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈtəʊpə/

Definitions

1. A person who drinks alcohol habitually to excess
2. Someone known for frequent or excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages
3. An individual characterized by regular heavy drinking or chronic inebriation

Etymology: The verb "tope," meaning to drink heavily or habitually, is the root here, and the noun takes its sense from the agent suffix "-er," so a toper is literally one who topes. The suffix has a long pedigree, running back through Old French "-ier" and Latin "-arius," which formed agent nouns denoting a person connected with an activity, but the word itself is a plain formation from an existing English verb rather than a borrowing. The verb "tope" is the more interesting part of the story, though its exact origin is uncertain, and it is worth being careful about what can be said confidently.

Synonyms: drunkard, boozehound, lush, sot, alcoholic