I. ca ‧ per 1 /ˈkeɪpə $ -ər/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Probably from capriole 'jump made by a horse' (16-21 centuries) , from French , from Latin caper ; ⇨ ↑ Capricorn ]
to jump around and play in a happy excited way
II. caper 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Sense 1: Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: capparis , from Greek kapparis ]
[ Sense 2-4: Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ caper 1 ]
1 . a small dark green part of a flower used in cooking to give a sour taste to food
2 . informal a planned activity, especially an illegal or dangerous one:
I’m too old for this sort of caper.
3 . behaviour or an activity that is amusing or silly and not serious:
the comic capers of a cartoon cat and mouse
4 . a short jumping or dancing movement