• (a.) An unexplained epithet used by Chaucer in reference to ships. By some it is defined as `dancing (on the wave)`; by others as `opposing,` `warlike.`
Hop`pes·tere' adjective An unexplained epithet used by Chaucer in reference to ships. By some it is defined as 'dancing (on the wave)'; by others as 'opposing,' 'warlike.' T. R. Lounsbury.