nipper

[nip-er] /ˈnɪp ər/
noun
1.
a person or thing that nips.
2.
Usually, nippers. a device for nipping, as pincers or forceps.
3.
one of the two large claws of a crustacean.
4.
Metalworking. dog (def 13).
5.
nippers, Older Slang. handcuffs.
6.
Informal.
  1. a small boy.
  2. Chiefly British. a costermonger's helper or assistant.
7.
Nautical. a short rope for seizing an anchor cable to a messenger from a capstan.
Origin
1525-35; nip1 + -er1
British Dictionary definitions for nipper

nipper

/ˈnɪpə/
noun
1.
a person or thing that nips
2.
the large pincer-like claw of a lobster, crab, or similar crustacean
3.
(informal) a small child
4.
(Austral) a type of small prawn used as bait
Word Origin and History for nipper
n.

"small boy," 1859, originally (1530s) a pickpocket who "pinched" other people's property; see nip (v.).

Slang definitions & phrases for nipper

nipper

noun

A small boy; lad •In British dialect, the youngest child of a family: warning that America's nippers are turning into microchip golem

[1859+; perhaps because he nips, ''moves quickly'']