Meaning

noun a decoy who lures customers into a gambling establishment (especially one with a fixed game)

noun a cowboy who uses a lasso to rope cattle or horses

noun a craftsman who makes ropes

origin* As an English surname, from the noun roper * As a north/Low German surname for the town crier, from Middle Low German ropen (“to call”), from Old Saxon hrōpan.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0