cappabar

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noun

a misappropriation of government property; embezzlement or fraud carried out in the management of a ship.

“Patrick O'Brian, *The Mauritius Command.* disposing of His Majesty's property was an immemorial practice among His Majesty's servants … and in the Navy it went by the name of cappabar.”

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Meanings

nouncappabar (plural not attested)

alternative capperbar · alternative capabarre · alternative capperbar · alternative cap a bar · alternative cape bar

  1. no pluralobsoletenauticala misappropriation of government property; embezzlement or fraud carried out in the management of a ship.

    Patrick O'Brian, *The Mauritius Command.* disposing of His Majesty's property was an immemorial practice among His Majesty's servants … and in the Navy it went by the name of cappabar.

    1 more example

    If e'er the Fortune of the war Gave him a Prize, he'd cap a bar Like blazes--but stand clear! that elf Who dared to steal besides himself.

    Burton, Alfred (1818), The Adventures of Johnny Newcome in the Navy, London: Methuen and Co., page 209

Origin

Uncertain. First attested 1818 as cap a bar. Dated or obsolete by the early 20th century.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cappabar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cappabar

MLA

“cappabar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cappabar. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cappabar,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cappabar.

Source: cappabar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.