[f. STEEP v.1 + -ER1.]
1. One who steeps; spec. one who carries out the operation of steeping flax, wool, etc.
1611. Cotgr., Trempeur, a dipper;… soaker, steeper.
1837. Flemish Husb., ix. (Libr. Useful Knowl.), 45. The best and most experienced steepers … prefer the clear soft water of the river Lys.
1904. Eng. Dial. Dict., Steeper, a wool-combing term: a man who steeps the wool before washing. w. Yks.
2. A vessel used in steeping or infusing; esp. a vat in which the indigo-plant is macerated.
1737. Miller, Gard. Dict. (ed. 3), s.v. Anil, The first, largest, and highest of these [Indigo] Vats is called the Steeper or Rot.
1839. Ure, Dict. Arts, 666. (Indigo) The uppermost is called the fermenting vat, or the steeper.
1886. Cornhill Mag., July, 51. The would-be drinker is then expected to seize the burning hot steeper [for tea].
3. dial. A soaking rain; also, a soaking with rain.
1878. E. Waugh, Hermit Cobbler, vii. It’s a steeper, and nought else. It’s th’ weetest back-end we’n had this ten year!
1898. Leeds Mercury Suppl., 7 May (E.D.D.). T’rain com dahn i’ buckets an’ it gae me a steeper an’ reight, tu.
