damper

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a movable iron plate that regulates the draft in a stove or chimney or furnace
noun a device that decreases the amplitude of electronic, mechanical, acoustical, or aerodynamic oscillations
noun a depressing restraint

From damp (verb) + -er. The name of the type of bread is first attested in 1825, and originally likely refers to damping the appetite.

"Come on, papa; damper every minute it gets." — Just Around the Corner: Romance en casserole, Fannie Hurst
“Yes, it’s rather a damper about old Mart Tinman,” her father assented. — Complete Short Works of George Meredith, George Meredith
In the damper hollows the Mauritia palms threw out their graceful drooping fronds. — The Lost World, Arthur Conan Doyle

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