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taper

Pronunciation: /ˈteɪpə/

The English word “taper” has 14 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A slender wax candle.
  2. A small light.
  3. A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness and/or cross section in an elongated object.
  4. The portion of an object with such a form.
  5. A long wick or thin stick used for transferring flames to candles, now usually chemically-treated to burn particularly slowly.
  6. A cone-shaped item for stretching the hole for an ear gauge (piercing).
  7. Gradual reduction over time.
  8. One who operates a tape machine.
  9. Someone who works with tape or tapes.

verb

  1. To make thinner or narrower at one end.
  2. To become thinner or narrower at one end.
  3. To diminish gradually.
  4. To tighten monetary policy.

adjective

  1. Tapered; narrowing to a point.

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”); If so, it is a doublet of papyrus; but compare Old French taper (“taper, slender candle or light”). Alternatively, of Celtic origin related to Irish tapar (“taper”), Welsh tampr (“a taper, torch”);…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.