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Webster 1913 Edition

Taper

Ta′per

,
Noun.
[AS.
tapur
,
tapor
,
taper
; cf. Ir.
tapar
, W.
tampr
.]
1.
A small wax candle; a small lighted wax candle; hence, a small light.
Get me a
taper
in my study, Lucius.
Shakespeare
2.
A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness in an elongated object;
as, the
taper
of a spire
.

Ta′per

,
Adj.
[Supposed to be from
taper
, n., in allusion to its form.]
Regularly narrowed toward the point; becoming small toward one end; conical; pyramidical;
as,
taper
fingers
.

Ta′per

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Tapered
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Tapering
.]
To become gradually smaller toward one end;
as, a sugar loaf
tapers
toward one end
.

Ta′per

,
Verb.
T.
To make or cause to taper.

Webster 1828 Edition

Taper

TA'PER

,
Noun.
A small wax candle; a small lighted wax candle, or a small light.
Get me a taper in my study, Lucius.

TA'PER

,
Adj.
[supposed to be from the form of a taper.]
Regularly narrowed towards the point; becoming small towards one end; conical; pyramidical; as taper fingers.

TA'PER

,
Verb.
I.
To diminish or become gradually smaller towards one end; as, a sugar loaf tapers towards a point.

TA'PER

,
Verb.
T.
To make gradually smaller in diameter.

Definition 2024

taper

taper

English

Noun

taper ‎(plural tapers)

  1. A slender wax candle; a small lighted wax candle
    • ~1603, William Shakespeare, Othello, Act I, scene I, line 157:
      strike on the tinder, ho!/ Give me a taper.
    • 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. (by extension) a small light.
  3. 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.
  4. A thin stick used for lighting candles, either a wax-coated wick or a slow-burning wooden rod.
Derived terms
Translations

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
Synonyms
Translations

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

Danish

Verb

taper

  1. present tense of tape

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"); 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

Verb

taper

  1. (transitive) to slap, knock, beat
  2. (transitive) to type (use a keyboard or typewriter)
  3. (intransitive, followed by the preposition sur) to hit, beat, rap
  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.)
    • Je me suis tapé un bon petit hamburger hier soir.
  7. (reflexive, vulgar, slang) to **** (have sex)
    • Il s'est tapé la fille de son patron.

Conjugation

Derived terms

See also

Anagrams

Norman

Pronunciation

Verb

taper ‎(gerund tap'thie)

  1. (Jersey, onomatopoeia) to hit, knock

Derived terms

  • taper raide ‎(“to hit hard”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

taper

  1. a loser

Inflection

Related terms

Noun

taper

  1. Indefinite plural of tape

Verb

taper

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

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

taper

  1. present tense of tape (to lose)

Walloon

Verb

taper

  1. to throw

Etymology

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 तपती ‎(tápati, “(it) warms, gives out heat; to be hot; to heat”). More at tepid.

Pronunciation

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