'dapifer' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'dapifer', where 'daps/dapis' meant 'feast' and '-fer' meant 'bearer.'

'dapifer' entered English via Medieval Latin (and Norman/Anglo-Latin usage) as 'dapifer,' retaining the form and meaning from Latin into Middle English before becoming archaic in modern English.

Initially, it meant 'feast-bearer' (literally one who carries or serves the feast); over time it came to denote a household steward or high-ranking official in charge of feasts and domestic arrangements and is now an archaic/limited historical term.