Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HAN'A-PER, n. [Norm. hanap, a cup, a hamper; Sax. hnæp, G. napf, D. nap, Fr. hanap, Arm. hanaff, It. nappo, a bowl or cup. These seem to be all the same word, yet I see not how a cup and a basket should have the same name, unless the vessel was originally made of bark, and so tight as to hold liquors.]

The hanaper was used in early days by the kings of England, for holding and carrying with them their money, as they journeyed from place to place. It was a kind of basket, like the fiscus, and hence came to be considered as the king's treasury. Hence, the clerk or warden of the hanaper, is an officer who receives the fees due to the king for seals of charters, patents, commissions, and writs. There is also an officer who is controller of the hanaper. This word therefore answered to the modern exchequer. – Spelman.