taper

English

WOTD – 2 May 2007    

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈteɪpə/
• (US) IPA: /ˈteɪpɚ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪpə(ɹ)
• Homophone: tapir

Etymology 1

From Middle English taper, from Old English tapor (“taper, candle, wick of a lamp”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Latin papyrus (“papyrus", used in Mediaeval times to mean "wick of a candle”), or of Celtic origin related to Irish tapar (“taper”), Welsh tampr (“a taper, torch”). Compare Sanskrit  (tápati, “(it) warms, gives out heat; to be hot; to heat”). More at tepid.

Noun

taper (plural tapers)

1. A slender wax candle; a small lighted wax candle; hence, a small light.
   • 1913, Paul Laurence Dunbar, The Change

     Love used to carry a bow, you know,

     But now he carries a taper;

     It is either a length of wax aglow,

     Or a twist of lighted paper.

2. A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness and/or cross section in an elongated object

   the taper of a spire.

   The legs of the table had a slight taper to them.

Derived terms

• taperwise

Translations

slender wax candle

• Danish: kærte (da) c, vokslys (da) n
• French: chandelle (fr) f
• German: dünne Wachskerze f

• Greek: λιανοκέρι (el) (lianokéri) n, αγιοκέρι (el) (agiokéri) n
• Russian: тонкая свечка (tónkaja svéčka)f

tapering form

• German: Verjüngung f
• Greek: απολέπτυνση (el) (apoléptynsi) f, κωνικότητα (el) (konikótita) f

• Russian: сужение (ru) (sužénije) n

Verb

taper (third-person singular simple present tapers, present participle tapering, simple past and past participle tapered)

1. (transitive) To make thinner or narrower at one end.
   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 3

     Though true cylinders without — within, the villanous green goggling glasses deceitfully tapered downwards to a cheating bottom.

2. (intransitive) To diminish gradually.

Derived terms

• taper off

Translations

make thinner or narrower

• Finnish: kaveta (fi), kaventua (fi)
• German: verjüngen (de)
• Greek: απολεπτύνω (el) (apoleptýno)

• Russian: сужать (ru) (sužátʼ) impf., утончать (ru) (utončátʼ) impf.
• Spanish: estrechar (es)

to diminish gradually

• Finnish: suipontua
• Greek: απολεπτύνομαι (el) (apoleptýnomai), αποξύνομαι (el) (apoxýnomai)

• Russian: сужаться (ru) (sužatʹsja), утончаться (ru) (utončatʹsja)
• Spanish: estrecharse (es)

Etymology 2

tape +‎ -er

Noun

taper (plural tapers)

1. (weaving) One who operates a tape machine.
2. Someone who works with tape or tapes.

Anagrams

• apert, apter, pater, petra, Petra, prate, preta, repat, trape

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Danish

Verb

taper

1. present of tape

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French

Etymology

From Middle French taper, from Old French tapper, taper (“to tap”), of Germanic origin, from Old Frankish *tappōn, *dabbōn (“to strike”) or from Middle Low German tappen, tapen ("to tap, rap, strike"; > Low German tappen); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dab- (“to strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰAbʰ- (“to beat, strike, stun, be speachless”). Related to German tappen (“to grope, fumble”), Dutch deppen (“to dab”), Icelandic tappa, tapsa, tæpta (“to tap”). Related to dab.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ta.pe/

• Audio (France, Paris)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -e
• Homophones: tapai, tapé, tapée, tapées, tapés, tapez

Verb

taper

1. (transitive) to slap, knock, beat
2. (transitive) to type (use a keyboard or typewriter)
3. (intransitive) to hit, beat, rap (sur on)
4. (intransitive) to beat down (of the sun); to go to one's head (of wine etc.)
5. (intransitive, slang) to stink, pong, reek
6. (reflexive, slang) to put away (a meal etc.)
7. (vulgar, slang) to fuck (have sex)

Conjugation

   Conjugation of taper (see also Appendix:French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		taper			avoir tapé
gerund		en tapant			en ayant tapé
present participle		tapant
past participle		tapé
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
simple tenses	present	tape	tapes	tape	tapons	tapez	tapent
	imperfect	tapais	tapais	tapait	tapions	tapiez	tapaient
	past historic1	tapai	tapas	tapa	tapâmes	tapâtes	tapèrent
	future	taperai	taperas	tapera	taperons	taperez	taperont
	conditional	taperais	taperais	taperait	taperions	taperiez	taperaient
compound tenses	present perfect	Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	past anterior1	Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	future perfect	Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	conditional perfect	Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il	que nous	que vous	qu’ils
simple tenses	present	tape	tapes	tape	tapions	tapiez	tapent
	imperfect1	tapasse	tapasses	tapât	tapassions	tapassiez	tapassent
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect1	Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
		—	tape	—	tapons	tapez	—
1literary tenses

Derived terms

Derived terms

tapable tape-à-l'œil tapeur

tapeuse tapure

See also

• frapper
• cogner

Anagrams

• parte, pâtre, prêta, tarpé

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Jèrriais

Verb

taper (gerund tap'thie)

1. (onomatopoeia) to hit, knock

Derived terms

• taper raide (“to hit hard”)

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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

taper

1. a loser

Inflection

    Declension of taper in Bokmål

		Genitive
Indefinite singluar	taper	tapers
Definite singluar	taperen	taperens
Indefinite plural	tapere	taperes
Definite plural	taperne	tapernes

Related terms

• tapar (Nynorsk)

Noun

taper

1. Indefinite plural of tape

Verb

taper

1. Present tense of tape (to lose)
2. (archaic) present tense of tape (to tape)

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

taper

1. present tense of tape (to lose)

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Walloon

Etymology

Verb

taper

1. to throw