Brewer's: Bumper

A full glass, generally connected with a “toast.” Dr. Arn says a bumper is when the surface of the wine bumps up in the middle. (French, bomber, to render convex, to bulge or swell out.)

“A fancied connection with bump, a swelling, has not only influenced the form of the word, but [has] added the notion of fulness.” —Skeat: Etymological Dictionary.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Related Content