Tudor & Stuart · insult · noun
Dandiprat
DAN-dee-prat /ˈdændɪpræt/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recordedc. 1520 (as a coin)
Originally the name of a small 16th-century English coin (valued at three halfpence (Green's), though some dictionaries say about twopence); by 1556 it is also recorded for a little or insignificant person: a small boy, a dwarf, or a contemptible fellow (how the senses are connected is uncertain).
Where it was first recorded
A letter of the Duke of Norfolk, dated c. 1520 in the first edition of the OED and around 1525 in the current OED; Dictionary.com gives 1510–20.
Also spelled: dandyprat, dandypratt
In its own time
On father Æneas his neck thee dandiprat hangeth.
Today
Modern exampleDon't let that dandiprat from accounts boss you about just because he has a clipboard.
Fine to use as a playful jab at someone small-minded or self-important; avoid aiming it at someone's actual height.
One old sense is 'dwarf'; do not use it to mock a person's size.
Questions
What does dandiprat mean?
Originally the name of a small 16th-century English coin (valued at three halfpence (Green's), though some dictionaries say about twopence); by 1556 it is also recorded for a little or insignificant person: a small boy, a dwarf, or a contemptible fellow (how the senses are connected is uncertain).
When was dandiprat first used?
It is first recorded c. 1520 (as a coin) — A letter of the Duke of Norfolk, dated c. 1520 in the first edition of the OED and around 1525 in the current OED; Dictionary.com gives 1510–20.
Can you still use dandiprat today?
Fine to use as a playful jab at someone small-minded or self-important; avoid aiming it at someone's actual height.
Sources
- dandiprat — Dictionary.com (Random House Unabridged)
- Dandiprat — World Wide Words (Michael Quinion)
- A Glossary ... particularly Shakespeare and his contemporaries (new ed., vol. 1) — Robert Nares (1888 edition, archive.org)
- A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words (vol. 1) — J. O. Halliwell (1878 ed., archive.org)
- dandiprat — Merriam-Webster
- Translation of the first four books of the Aeneis (1582), ed. Arber — Richard Stanyhurst (archive.org)
- dandiprat, n. — Green's Dictionary of Slang
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above