Etymology From Middle English lepere, lepare, from Old English hlēapere (“runner, leaper, dancer, courier, vagrant”), equivalent to leap + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Lööper (“runner”), West Frisian ljepper (“leaper”), West Frisian loper (“runner”), Dutch loper (“runner”), German Läufer (“runner”), Swedish löpare (“runner”), Icelandic hlaupari (“runner”).
1
One who leaps.
[…] I read in the Bulletin about some mad joker breaking into the little kangaroo and koala zoo in the suburbs and slaughtering seven adult leapers and three joeys.1980, Anthony Burgess, chapter 39, in Earthly Powers, New York: Avon, page 299:
In the winter—God knows why!—he liked basketball […] He played only in pickup games, to be sure—he could never have played on any of the teams—but he played with enthusiasm; he was quite a leaper, he had a jump shot that elevated him almost to eye level with the other players […]1989, John Irving, chapter 6, in A Prayer for Owen Meany, New York: William Morrow, page 271:
2
A kind of hooked instrument for untwisting old cordage.
3
Board games, Chess, Games A piece, like the knight, which moves a fixed distance, and ignores pieces in the way.
Any combination of a piece with a free piece is obviously free. It can however happen that a two-pattern leaper is free even though its components are not. […] Many other two-pattern leapers are possible.2010 August 21, G. P. Jelliss, “Simple Chess Variants”, in Mayhematics, pages 9, 10:
4
Synonym of jumper (“person who attempts suicide by jumping from a height”).
5
A person whose birthday falls on 29 February, and thus only occurs in leap years.
I'm sick of getting coloring books and dollies for my birthdays, and other leapers are just as exasperated by their juvenile gifts. Another question we always get is, “When do you celebrate your birthday?” On February 29th, of course.2003, Julietta Appleton, Clothing Optional: Sassy Essays from My First 50 Years, page 2:
LifestyleSlang A fan of the television series Quantum Leap.
Its mention has been known to cause power failures and auto breakdowns, so it's best to just refer to it as "The Halloween Episode." Leapers everywhere will know of what you speak.1992, Scott Nance, Making a Quantum Leap, Pioneer Books, →ISBN, page 22:
Bakula already has a genre following of "Leapers" from his years as Dr. Sam Beckett on QUANTUM LEAP.2001 Oct/Nov, Anna L. Kaplan, “The TREK Franchise Seeks to Reinvigorate Itself With a Trip Back to the Strat of Future History”, in Cinefantastique, volume 33, number 5, Forest Park, IL: Celeste C. Clarke, →ISSN, page 19, column 4:
1 more example
While newcomers to the QL cult won't mind, Leapers know their show and will surely object to the alterations.2006, David Hofstede, 5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows on DVD 2007, Back Stage Books, →ISBN, page 238: