'damper' originates from English, formed from the base 'damp' plus the agent/instrument suffix '-er,' where 'damp' (ultimately from Middle Low German 'damp') meant 'to deaden, check, or make moist,' and '-er' meant 'a thing that performs an action.'

'Damp' (in Middle English influenced by Middle Low German 'damp' meaning ‘vapor; noxious exhalation’) developed the verb sense ‘to deaden or check.’ Adding the English suffix '-er' produced 'damper' in the early 18th century for ‘that which deadens or restrains,’ which broadened to specific mechanical devices and, by the 19th century, to the figurative use in the phrase 'put a damper on.' The Australian bread sense arose in the 19th century.

Initially, it meant ‘something that deadens or checks,’ later extending to named devices that curb airflow or vibration, and figuratively to anything that diminishes enthusiasm; it also specialized regionally as the name of a simple bush bread in Australia.