A loyal, reliable person who keeps working even when things are difficult, or an actor or performer in a theatrical troupe.
From the French 'troupe' (a group of performers), which comes from Italian 'truppa.' The suffix '-er' makes it a noun referring to a member of a troupe. The 'reliable person' meaning developed because performers in traveling troupes had to be dependable.
A 'trouper' originally meant an actor in a theater group, but today 'being a trouper' means being reliable and tough—this shift happened because traveling theater groups faced so many challenges that only dedicated, tough people survived! The job requirements literally shaped the meaning.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.