† rapn.1
Obsolete.
= rape n.2 to have rap: to have swift passage.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [noun] > haste
hiec1175
hightc1225
rapa1250
hyingc1275
rape?a1300
rekec1330
hastiheada1393
pressa1393
hastea1400
unhonea1400
racec1400
gethea1500
festination1541
festinancy1660
hurry1692
festinance1727
scurry1823
rush1849
jildi1890
a1250 (a1220) Giraldus Cambrensis Itinerarium Kambriæ & Descr. Kambriæ (1868) 188 Betere is red thene rap [glossed festinatio], and liste thene lither streingthe.
c1300 Body & Soul (Laud Misc. 108) (1889) 43 (MED) Wedir i ede up or doun, Þat i ne bar þe on my bac, Als þin as fro toun to toun, Als se þouȝ me lete have rap and rac?
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
rapn.2int.
/rap/, U.S. /ræp/α. Middle English rape, Middle English–1600s rappe, 1500s–1700s rapp, 1500s– rap; Scottish pre-1700 rape, pre-1700 1700s– rap.
β. 1600s–1700s wrap.
I. Senses relating to a blow, stroke, or loud noise.† 2. An act of breaking wind. Cf. crack n. 3. Obsolete.† 3. Scottish. A moment, an instant. Cf. clap n.1 7. Obsolete.
1.
a. A blow, a stroke. In early use: a heavy or severe blow from a weapon, etc. In later use: a sharp, but usually relatively light, stroke with a stick, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > [noun] > a stroke or blow > specific on a person
buffet?c1225
flatc1320
boxc1330
rapc1330
plaguea1382
puncha1450
buffc1475
jowl?1516
beff1768
funk1790
fib1814
cob1828
one1876
biff1889
clump1889
one in the eye1891
conk1898
fourpenny one1936
a sock in the eye1972
kennedy-
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > [noun] > a sharp or smart blow
dab1300
rapc1330
thresta1400
bruntc1400
knap14..
yedderc1440
gird1487
yert1509
fillip1543
yark1555
flewet1570
stingera1577
flirt1577
wherret1577
riprapc1580
spang1595
nick1651
lick1680
flip1692
yowf1711
clink1722
wherrya1726
click1773
whither1791
swata1800
yank1818
snock1825
clip1830
snop1849
clinkera1863
siserary1893
blip1894
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > [noun] > beating > a blow
rapc1330
cuff1570
lamback1592
scourge1741
tinglera1804
swish1860
whomp1970
c1330 Roland & Vernagu (Auch.) (1882) 605 (MED) Þai gun anoþer fiȝt & stones to gider þrewe; Gode rappes for þe nones Þai ȝauen wiþ þe stones.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 233 Þaȝ þe rape were rank, þe rawþe watz lyttel.
c1450 (c1400) Emaré (1908) 660 (MED) The wawes, þat were grete and strong, On þe bote faste þey þonge, Wyth mony vnsemely rappes.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 7680 He..The right arme with a rappe reft fro þe shuldurs.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward V f. xiiiiv He clapped hys fyste on the borde a great rappe.
1562 T. Sternhold et al. Whole Bk. Psalmes lxxiv. 178 Lord..be not slack, to geue thy foes a rappe.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 571 Paris caught a rap vpon the mouth with a marble stone.
1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 2nd Bk. Wks. xiv. 100 I gave him such a sturdie thump and sound rap on the fingers, with all the weight of my javelin, that he came no more the second time.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 260. ⁋5 She pulled off her Shoe, and hit me with the Heel such a Rap.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews vi. 241 [They] had undoubtedly brought him to the ground, had not Joseph, collecting all his Force given Jowler such a Rap on the Back, that quitting his Hold he ran howling over the Plain.
1788 J. Skinner Christmass Bawing in Caledonian Mag. Sept. 504 The traitor..Rawght him a rap o' the forestamm.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 56 The boys, and the audience in general, were kept in order by raps of a stick.
1939 F. D. Tredrey Pilot's Summer 28 If you bale out and land in water..a smart rap will release the whole lot and you can swim free.
2000 Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) (Nexis) 30 Mar. 1 g A sharp rap on the knee.
b. A knocking sound, such as is produced by striking a hard surface with something; a sharp knock, or series of knocks, esp. on a door, or as supposedly made by a spirit at a seance, etc. Also as int.: representing this sound (cf. rap-tap int.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sound of blow or fall > [noun] > knock
frap1582
rapa1586
knick-a-knock1600
rat-tat1731
rap-tap1733
tat-tat1786
postman's knock1795
rat-a-tat1813
tattarrattat1922
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > [noun] > striking so as to produce sound > knocking > a knock
knock1377
knackc1380
rapa1586
rap-tap1733
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sound of blow or fall > [interjection] > knock
powc1580
rat-a-tat1672
rap1762
rap-tap1800
the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [noun] > rapping or moving table (by spirit)
spirit rappings1846
table tipping1846
rapping1848
table-lifting1852
table-moving1852
table-turning1852
rap1853
table-rapping1853
table-tapping1854
table tilting1858
a1586 King Hart l. 579 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 272 Reassoun and wit richt at the ȝet thay rang With rappis lowd.
1637 S. Rutherford Lett. (1863) I. lxxxviii. 227 His first knock or rap at the door.
1716 A. Pope Further Acct. E. Curll 9 I hear the Rap of Mr. Curll's Ivory headed Cane upon the Counter.
1760 S. Fielding Ophelia I. xvii. 130 The Peculiarity of a Footman's Rap startled me.
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World I. 165 Rap went the footman at the door; bounce went my heart.
1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl II. iii. 23 While they were talking over the affair a double rap was heard at the door.
1853 Spirit Rappings 4 ‘Hush!’ she exclaims, ‘I think I hear a rap.’ The spirit-seeker stretches his neck and intently listens, and a sound like the dripping of water is distinctly heard.
1896 A. R. White Youth's Educator xv. 193 Announce yourself by a rap on the door, and do not burst in..without warning.
1927 G. A. Terrill Out in Glare iv. 62 The ball swerved——pitched; the inner edge of his bat grazed it. ‘Rap!’ it had got him on the pad.
1943 M. Lavin Tales from Bective Bridge 165 If you feel cold..be sure to give a rap on the wall, and I'll come down.
1977 ‘L. Egan’ Blind Search vi. 95 Counting raps on a Ouija board.
1986 T. McGuane To skin Cat (1989) 134 He gave the closed door a single rap.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > fart or belch > [noun]
fise14..
fartc1405
fist1440
rapa1475
ventosity1513
pet?1521
escape1599
fowkin?a1600
bum crack1604
squib1611
poot1899
poop1937
trouser cough1978
trouser burp2003
a1475 Friar & Boy (Brogyntyn) in J. O. Halliwell Early Eng. Misc. (1855) 53 (MED) Another rape sche lette goo; Hyr ars was ny to-rente.
c1500 Friar & Boy (Rawl.) in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1895) 90 70 (MED) Whan she lokyth on me so, Yef she myght lette a rappe [a1475 Brogyntyn crake] goo That myght rynge all þe place!
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xxiii. 224 Flamock hauing his belly full..gaue out a rappe nothing faintly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun] > moment or instant
hand-whileOE
prinkOE
start-while?c1225
twinkling1303
rese?c1335
prick1340
momenta1382
pointa1382
minutea1393
instant1398
braida1400
siquarea1400
twink14..
whip?c1450
movement1490
punct1513
pissing whilea1556
trice1579
turning of a hand1579
wink1585
twinklec1592
semiquaver1602
punto1616
punctilio of time1620
punctum1620
breathing1625
instance1631
tantillation1651
rapc1700
crack1725
turning of a straw1755
pig's whisper1780
jiffy1785
less than no time1788
jiff1797
blinka1813
gliffy1820
handclap1822
glimpsea1824
eyewink1836
thought1836
eye-blink1838
semibreve1845
pop1847
two shakes of a lamb's taila1855
pig's whistle1859
time point1867
New York minute1870
tick1879
mo?1896
second1897
styme1897
split-second1912
split minute1931
no-time1942
sec.1956
c1700 P. Walker in J. Herkless Life R. Cameron (1899) 109 A rap of calm weeping.
1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess iii. 112 Honest Jean brang forward in a rap Green horn cutties.
1813 E. Picken Misc. Poems II. 81 In a rap..he gat a scrap, And wrate the order.
1882 P. McNeill Preston 112 Ebb wasna drooned, but drookit, He sober'd in a rap.
II. Senses relating to censure or punishment.
4. colloquial (chiefly U.S.). A rebuke, a reprimand; an instance of adverse criticism or blame. Cf. a rap on the knuckles at Phrases 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > [noun] > instance of
admonishingc1350
reproofc1400
fliting1435
rebuke?a1439
snibc1450
reprehensiona1500
redargution1514
remorda1529
piece of one's mind1536
check1541
snuba1556
rebuking1561
boba1566
sneap1600
snipping1601
reprimand1636
repriment1652
rubber1699
slap1736
twinkation1748
rap1777
throughgoing1817
dressing-down1823
downset1824
hazing1829
snubbing1841
downsetting1842
raking1852
calling1855
talking toc1875
rousting1900
strafe1915
strafing1915
raspberry1919
rousing1923
bottle1938
reaming1944
ticking-off1950
serve1967
1777 in Amer. Pioneer (Cincinnati) (1843) Jan. 17 The post master general..has lately had a rap, which I hope will have a good effect.
1803 P. Canvas (title) A rap for the P.R.A., or three words to Mr. West on his late attempt to pass off an old lady of 76 for a beauty of eighteen hundred and three.
1865 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 297/2 He who has the bad taste to meddle with the caprices of believers..gets the rap and the orders of dismissal.
1932 ‘A. Rolls’ Lobelia Grove x. 227 It's up to us to keep a damn sharp look-out, my boy... We've had a bit of a rap over it, between you and me.
1977 National Observer (U.S.) 22 Jan. 16/7 ‘Mr Fixit’ is coming to town, and that is no rap on Jimmy Carter. More than anything else, the American people want government to work.
2007 Mirror (Nexis) 9 Feb. 64 I don't care if I have to take a rap for speaking out.
5.
a. U.S. Criminals' slang. A prison sentence.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > sentence or term of
time1790
lagging1819
stretch1821
model1845
birdlime1857
penal1864
prison sentence1867
rap1870
bit1871
spot1895
hard time1896
sleep1911
jolt1912
bird1924
fall1926
beef1928
trick1933
porridge1950
custodial sentence1951
1870 N.Y. Clipper 23 Apr. 18/3 Charles, son of Victor Hugo, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment and fined $600, for an editorial article in the Rappel. That's a pretty hard rap.
1900 C. L. Cullen Tales of Ex-tanks xviii. 277 It was my first rap at Milwaukee.
1935 ‘E. Queen’ Spanish Cape Myst. xiv. 300 You're in a tough spot. Do you know what the rap for blackmail is in this State?
1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty Lady sings Blues xii. 122 I might explain the first rap was a freak accident. But the second was tougher.
1982 Comments on Etymol. 1 May 7 Rap..was a synonym for jolt, meaning a conviction and prison sentence... In recent years both these terms have come to include charges even though no conviction results.
2004 C. Wilhelm & J. Jacobson Wised Up 18 They think we snitch for the money the government pays us or to beat a long prison rap.
b. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). A criminal accusation; a charge. Frequently with modifying word (see also bum rap n. 1). Also: an identification of a suspect prior to a criminal charge (now rare).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > personal identification > [noun] > identification parade
rap1903
show-up1981
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > [noun] > a charge, accusation, or allegation > criminal charge
ditty1634
pinch1900
rap1903
1903 H. Hapgood Autobiogr. Thief xii. 265 ‘What makes you look so glum?’.. ‘Turned out of police court this morning.’ ‘What was the rap, Mike?’ ‘I'm looking too respectable. They asked me where I got the clothes.’
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 68 Rap,..an identification; a charge of guilt.
1926 N.Y. Times 30 May 2/3 New words from the bright lexicon of crime. The newest is ‘rap’, meaning identification. When one is singled out from a line of suspects as the dip who slid the ticktick, one is the victim of a ‘rap’.
1929 D. Hammett Red Harvest xxii. 215 I wondered if the little gambler had done it, or if this was another of the wrong raps that Poisonville police chiefs liked to hang on him.
1936 ‘J. Curtis’ Gilt Kid 229 There was no burglary rap because the offices had not been inhabited.
1970 R. D. Abrahams Positively Black iii. 79 I was standing on the corner, wasn't even shooting crap, When a policeman came by, picked me up on a lame rap.
1996 Outlook (New Delhi) 28 Aug. 61/2 A heroin or morphine rap could mean sentences up to 15 years and in severe cases of trafficking, even the death penalty.
III. Senses relating to talk or speech of a particular style.
6. A talk, a chat; conversation. Now English regional and rare, except as implied in sense 8a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > [noun] > chatting or chat
confabulationc1450
device1490
chat1573
tittle-tattle?c1640
small talk1650
confab1701
chit-chat1710
jaw1748
small-talking1786
prose1787
rap1787
coze1804
talky-talky1812
clack1813
chit-chatting1823
cozey1837
gossip1849
mardlea1852
yarn1857
conflab1873
chinwag1879
chopsing1879
cooze1880
chatting1884
schmoozing1884
talky-talk1884
pitch1888
schmooze1895
coosy1903
wongi1929
yap1930
kibitz1931
natter1943
old talk1956
jaw-jaw1958
yacking1959
ole talk1964
rapping1967
1787 J. Ritson Lett. to Rowntree 28 Oct. (1833) I. 129 I shall be most glad of my Lords arrival if it were only for the raps you promise me.
1857 Punch 28 Mar. 121/2 The Jesuit he loved splitting hairs, The Charlatan an apt rap.
1898 R. Blakeborough Wit N. Riding Yorks. 433 Lets 'ev a pipe an' a bit o' rap.
7. Australian colloquial. A boost, a commendation; a piece of praise. Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > [noun] > an instance, act, or expression of
commendation1535
good words1535
suffrage1566
commend1606
exalt1607
commendatory1641
exaltation1650
back-pat1894
cheerleading1902
rave1926
rap1939
bouquet1955
1939 K. Tennant Foveaux ii. iv. 176 Everyone wants to be seen with a high-up feller. When I pass the time of day to a cove he feels that's a rap for him, see?
1959 R.A.N. News (Sydney) 20 Mar. 4 ‘Wagga’ [sc. the ship] got a ‘rap up’ from ‘Voyager’... ‘Congratulations.’
1973 K. Dunstan Sports 229 And if someone does something good, takes a good mark, give him a rap. Tell him.
1982 Sun-Herald (Sydney) 1 Aug. 77/4 Give Tony a rap. He was so cool under pressure.
2007 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 7 May 85 This horse had some big raps on him during the spring and he might not have lived up to them.
8.
a. U.S. colloquial (chiefly in African-American use). A verbal display, esp. one intended to impress. Hence: improvised dialogue; banter, ‘spiel’; an instance of this. Cf. rap v.2 8c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > [noun]
speechc900
talec1000
speaka1300
reasonc1300
speakinga1325
counsela1350
intercommuningc1374
dalliancec1400
communication1419
communancec1449
collocutiona1464
parlour?c1475
sermocination1514
commona1529
dialogue?1533
interlocutiona1534
discourse1545
discoursing1550
conference1565
purposea1572
talk1572
interspeech1579
conversationa1586
devising1586
intercourse1596
intercommunication1603
eclogue1604
commercing1610
communion1614
negocea1617
alloquy1623
confariation1652
gob1681
gab1761
commune1814
colloquy1817
conversing1884
cross-talk1887
bull session1920
rap1957
1957 N. Algren in Playboy Apr. 72/3 People like to say a pimp is a crime and a shame. But who's the one friend a hustling broad's got?.. Who puts down that real soft rap only you can hear to let you know your time is up and is everything alright in there Baby?
1965 R. Brownlee Michael (Lover) (song, perf. ‘The C.O.D.'s’) in A. Kempton Boogaloo (2005) 365 His rap is strong, with lots of fame When the girls see him coming they tighten up their game.
1966 T. Leary Politics of Ecstasy xv. 225 He started a three-hour rap about energy, electronics, drugs, politics.
1967 J. Horton in Trans-action Apr. 6/1 Sometimes used synonymously with street conversation, ‘rap’ is really a special way of talking—repartee... For example, one needs to throw a lively rap when he is ‘putting the make on a broad’.
1971 Black Scholar Jan. 17/2 The indigenous, enduring black folk rap, then, is populated with witches, tyrants, befrienders of young children, the strong, the stoic, the quick-witted.
1975 Time Out 7 Feb. 43/2 Although their rap between songs seems more suited to a family variety show it can at least be excused as ‘professionalism’.
1987 C. Phillips European Tribe iv. 40 When the movie was over Jimmy switched off the television and began to talk about integrity... He was beginning a ‘rap’ I had heard from him before.
2000 P. Beatty Tuff iii. 37 He was entering player mode and about to unleash his rap.
b. Music (originally U.S. colloquial). A performance in which lyrics (typically rhyming and sometimes improvised) are spoken rhythmically over a strong background beat; a rap song, a set of rap lyrics (see sense 8c). Cf. rap v.2 8d.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > pop music > [noun] > other pop music
a cappella1905
soundclash1925
marabi1933
doo-wop1958
filk1959
folk-rock1963
Liverpool sound1963
Mersey beat1963
Mersey sound1963
surf music1963
malombo1964
mbaqanga1964
easy listening1965
disco music1966
Motown1966
boogaloo1967
power pop1967
psychedelia1967
yé-yé1967
agitpop1968
bubblegum1968
Tamla Motown1968
Tex-Mex1968
downtempo1969
taarab1969
thrash1969
world music1969
funk1970
MOR1970
tropicalism1970
Afrobeat1971
electro-pop1971
post-rock1971
techno-pop1971
Tropicalia1971
tropicalismo1971
disco1972
Krautrock1972
schlager1973
Afropop1974
punk funk1974
disco funk1975
Europop1976
mgqashiyo1976
P-funk1976
funkadelia1977
karaoke music1977
alternative music1978
hardcore1978
psychobilly1978
punkabilly1978
R&B1978
cowpunk1979
dangdut1979
hip-hop1979
Northern Soul1979
rap1979
rapping1979
jit1980
trance1980
benga1981
New Romanticism1981
post-punk1981
rap music1981
scratch1982
scratch-music1982
synth-pop1982
electro1983
garage1983
Latin1983
Philly1983
New Age1984
New Age music1985
ambient1986
Britpop1986
gangster rap1986
house1986
house music1986
mbalax1986
rai1986
trot1986
zouk1986
bhangra1987
garage1987
hip-house1987
new school1987
old school1987
thrashcore1987
acid1988
acid house1988
acid jazz1988
ambience1988
Cantopop1988
dance1988
deep house1988
industrial1988
swingbeat1988
techno1988
dream pop1989
gangsta rap1989
multiculti1989
new jack swing1989
noise-pop1989
rave1989
Tejano1989
breakbeat1990
chill-out music1990
indie1990
new jack1990
new jill swing1990
noisecore1990
baggy1991
drum and bass1991
gangsta1991
handbag house1991
hip-pop1991
loungecore1991
psychedelic trance1991
shoegazing1991
slowcore1991
techno-house1991
gabba1992
jungle1992
sadcore1992
UK garage1992
darkcore1993
dark side1993
electronica1993
G-funk1993
sampladelia1994
trip hop1994
break1996
psy-trance1996
nu skool1997
folktronica1999
dubstep2002
Bongo Flava2003
grime2003
Bongo2004
singeli2015
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > types of song > [noun] > other types of song
roundelaya1475
black sanctus?1533
pastorella1597
orgial1610
balow1613
comic song1718
hunting-song1727
vaudeville1739
apopemptic1753
melologue1820
Orphic1855
wren song1855
air de cour1878
Kunstlied1880
action song1883
come-all-you1887
marching song1894
party song1911
theme song1929
honky-tonker1950
protest song1953
sing-along1959
slow jam1961
talking blues1969
rap1979
1979 Billboard 5 May 3/2 Young DJs like Eddie Cheeba, DJ Hollywood, DJ Starski, and Kurtis Blow are attracting followings with their slick raps... Tapes of Hollywood's raps are considered valuable commodities by young blacks.
1980 Washington Post 31 Aug. g2/5 Gary O'Brien of the Sugarhill Gang outlines the essential elements of a good rap.
1988 Tower Records' Top Feb. 7/5 [They] have great hopes for the..hip-hop EP..consisting of ‘Anyone’, ‘The Dark’ and 2 raps.
1990 Cracked Sept. 24/1 I wanted to write you a letter,..but I decided to write a rap instead! Cracked is a seven letter word, Sylvester P. Smythe is really a nerd!
2003 C. Brown Stagolee shot Billy 224 In several of his raps, he [sc. ‘Too $hort’] makes reference to characters in The Mack.
c. Music (originally U.S. colloquial). A genre of popular music in which lyrics (typically rhyming and sometimes improvised) are spoken rhythmically, and usually rapidly, over an instrumental backing which has a strong background beat and often features samples (sample n. Additions b). Cf. hip-hop n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > pop music > [adjective] > qualities of pop
metal?1518
anthemic1890
Afro-Latin-American1900
sun-kissed1907
heavy1937
Latin American1937
Memphis1938
sun-drenched1943
indie1945
rockish1955
hardcore1957
doo-wop1958
middle of the road1959
Latin1962
straight-ahead1964
easy listening1965
Motown1965
funky1967
post-rock1967
rocky1967
rock-out1968
funkadelic1969
funked out1970
grungy1971
punk1971
grunge1972
Philly1972
dub1973
drum and bass1975
disco funky1976
punkish1976
reggaefied1976
Britpop1977
post-punk1977
anarcho-punk1979
rap1980
trash rock1980
crunchy1981
industrial1981
New Romantic1981
rockist1981
garage1982
hip-hop1982
thrashy1982
urban1982
Gothic1983
hip-hopping1983
beat-box1984
lo-fi1986
technoid1986
hip-house1987
acid house1988
new jack1988
old school1988
techno1988
baggy1990
banging1990
gangsta1990
filthy1991
handbaggy1991
nu skool1991
sampladelic1991
junglist1993
1980 Boston Globe 10 Apr. 1 Rap isn't simply a male monopoly as Blondie, Angie B and Cheryl rap to the shuffle boogie beat of the Sugarhill Gang band.
1982 Face May 57/2 There is even a Rap single of ‘Mama’ available.
1983 N.Y. Times 18 May c19/5 Rap, the streetwise, intensely rhythmic pop sound that has come roaring out of Harlem, Brooklyn and the South Bronx..is entering a second critical phase in its evolution.
1994 i-D Oct. 103/3 The group cemented their success by bravely broadening rap's boundaries; by being among the first to rhyme about everyday life, family and friends.
2003 A. N. LeBlanc Random Family xlii. 387 Serena liked rap and R & B.
9. colloquial (originally North American). A reputation, a reported opinion; talk, gossip. Frequently with modifying word, esp. bad.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > [noun]
nameeOE
talec1175
fame?c1225
lose1297
creancec1330
stevenc1374
opinionc1384
credencec1390
recorda1393
renowna1400
reputationc1400
reportc1425
regardc1440
esteema1450
noisea1470
reapport1514
estimation1530
savour1535
existimationa1538
countenancea1568
credit1576
standing1579
stair1590
perfumec1595
estimate1597
pass1601
reportage1612
vibration1666
suffrage1667
rep1677
face1834
odour1835
rap1966
1966 Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press 30 Aug. 43/1 (heading) A bad rap... Eagle was always something of a scapegoat in Cowtown.
1967 Independent (Long Beach, Calif.) 11 Sept. c2/1 Bob Cousy has been given a bad rap.
1980 R. Mayer 1937 Newark Bears vii. 81 The rap on the kid was that he was too slow for the infield.
1998 Skydiving Mar. 50/2 Skydiving has a bad enough rap already, but many people are striving for professionalism and the growth of this sport.
2004 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Aug. 17/1 Antibacterial soaps and toothpaste could be getting a bad rap when it comes to creating superbugs.
2007 S. Richmond et al. Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei (Lonely Planet) (ed. 10) 564/1 It gets a good rap from locals and tourists alike.
Phrases
P1. a rap on (also over, across) the knuckles: (a) a sharp blow to the knuckles, typically delivered as a punishment or reprimand; (b) figurative a rebuke, a reprimand; an adverse criticism. Cf. to rap (a person) on the knuckles at rap v.2 Phrases.
ΚΠ
1634 Hocus Pocus Iunior sig. C4 Take him a good rap on the knuckles.
1715 ‘C. Dodd’ Secret Policy Eng. Society of Jesus 152 His Holiness himself..acquitted the appealing Clergy in a special Brief, and reprimanded the Arch Priest... You also, reverend Father, have a sensible rap over the Knuckles in the same Brief.
1800 ‘A. Pasquin’ Satires & Biogr. (title of poem) A genteel rap on the knuckles.
1851 H. Melville Redburn xi. 73 I received a rap on the knuckles from a spoon, and was told that I must help myself from my own side, for that was the rule.
1907 J. Conrad Secret Agent vii. 195 They'll have to get a hard rap on the knuckles over this affair.
1992 L. Appignanesi Memory & Desire (BNC) 345 Her fingers stiffened under the memory of the innumerable raps on the knuckles Silvie had given her in the past.
2005 Asian Age 28 Sept. 19/2 He also gets a rap across the knuckles for going public in the first place... ‘Any player going to the media will face disciplinary action’.
P2. U.S. slang.
a. to get the rap: to receive a rebuke or scolding; to get the blame; (also) to be charged with a crime.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > blame > [verb (intransitive)] > take the blame
to get the rap1865
to carry (also take) the can (back)1927
1865 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 297/2 He who has the bad taste to meddle with the caprices of believers..gets the rap and the orders of dismissal.
1927 Chicago Tribune 14 June 9/1 He's afraid a few of these murders will be solved and that he'll get the rap that belongs to him.
1972 ‘H. Howard’ Nice Day for Funeral iii. 51 Suppose somebody gets the rap for killing Frankie? What good will that do her?
1994 D. Blum Monkey Wars 178 Because I'm president of this association, I get the rap for everything.
b. to beat the rap: to be acquitted of a charge; to escape punishment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > escape > [verb (intransitive)] > escape unscathed > escape punishment
to beat the rap1911
1911 Washington Post 17 Sept. (Miscellany section) 2/6 He has always sent for a lawyer to look after the defense, and has supplied his unfortunate associates with every possible help in an endeavor to beat the ‘rap’.
1927 C. Clark & E. E. Eubank Lockstep & Corridor vii. 42 I told him that the only way for his brother to beat the ‘rap’ was to..furnish bond and beat it.
1953 W. S. Burroughs Junkie viii. 78 At the time, he was out on bail, but expected to beat the rap on the grounds of illegal seizure.
1994 Virginia Gaz. 1 Oct. a11/2 On appeal, he beat this rap by the trickiest legal technicality..with the help of a high-priced Washington lawyer.
2004 Nation 8 Nov. 6/2 Even before the crimes were committed, the White House was planning how to beat the rap.
c. to take the rap: to accept responsibility and the consequent punishment for a crime, error, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > responsibility > be under responsibility [verb (intransitive)] > assume or accept responsibility
account1572
to stand the racket1789
to take the strain1912
to take the rap1919
to carry the ball1924
1919 Chicago Tribune 20 June 7/4 Will Eugene Harnett ‘take the rap’ for the killing of Rudolph Wolfe?
1952 Chambers's Jrnl. May 309/1 Arresting me? Nonsense! In any case, what about you? Do you think I would leave you here to take the rap?
1978 S. Brill Teamsters iv. 143 He thought Sammy Provenzano had made a deal with Briguglio to get him to take the rap.
1989 New Yorker 5 June 66/2 If the magazine is to publish what we think is important, someone has to take the rap.
d. to pin (also hang, tie) the rap on: to charge with a crime; (also more generally) to blame.Frequently with the implication that evidence is circumstantial or unsound.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > charge, accuse, or indict [verb (transitive)] > showing incontrovertible evidence
fit1611
to pin (also hang, tie) the rap on1921
1921 Chicago Tribune 3 Jan. 2/1 He did everything he could to get out of it, even to trying to hang the rap on me.
1932 ‘Spindrift’ Yankee Slang 58 Pin the rap on him and make it ‘stick’.
1956 H. Gold Man who was not with It xxvi. 245 How do I know the fuzz aren't waiting back here to tie on a rap for Aiding and Abetting?
1961 P. G. Wodehouse Service with Smile vi. 99 Keep saying ‘Is zat so?’..confident that she can never pin the rap on you.
2000 M. Sears & W. Sears Breastfeeding Bk. 77/2 Mothers have been known to go to great lengths to pin the rap for their baby's fussiness on certain foods.
2002 K. H. Page Body in Bonfire (2003) 203 Great. The kind of thing kids say all the time in anger. And this is enough to hang a murder rap on the boy?
Compounds
Originally and chiefly U.S.
rap centre n. colloquial a place where people (esp. teenagers) can gather to socialize; the meeting place of a rap group (rap group n. (a)).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > [noun] > conferring or consulting > place for
speech-housec1050
palaver-court1735
palaver-room1735
palaver house1789
baraza1863
cenacle1889
conference table1928
table1946
rap centre1969
1969 Los Angeles Times 30 May i. 1/5 We want the park [sc. People's Park in Berkeley, Calif.] to be a cultural, political, freak out and rap center.
1990 P. C. Keith-Spiegel & G. P. Koocher Children, Ethics, & Law v. 107 Marcia regularly attends a well-supervised, community funded after-school drop-in recreation and ‘rap’ center.
rap club n. (a) a brothel which is ostensibly a club providing companionship and conversation (now rare); (b) a nightclub where rap music is performed or played.
ΚΠ
1973 N.Y. Post 22 June 7 In the face of a crackdown on street prostitution many of the girls..are taking shelter in ‘rap clubs’—which have replaced massage parlors in the sex-for-sale world.
1974 B. Hoddeson Porn People v. 62/1 The place I sent Mike to was one of the ‘rap’ clubs that were rapidly replacing the massage parlors in the city... Masseuses had to be licensed. But ‘conversation’ with ‘lovely conversationalists’ was unregulated.
1983 Time 21 Mar. 72/2 There are already rap clubs in London, and last summer's No. 1 song on the German charts was a bit of Euro-rap called Der Kommissar.
2003 Us Weekly 17 Mar. 78 He goes undercover at a rap club in an attempt to clear up Charlene's tarnished rep.
rap group n. (a) colloquial a mutual support group which meets to discuss shared problems; (b) a group that performs rap music.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > [noun] > topic of or subject for conversation or gossip > discussion > group, panel, or panellist
panel?1578
panellist1948
rap group1969
society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > instrumentalist > company of instrumentalists > [noun] > small band or pop group
group1927
combination1928
combo1935
skiffle group1953
pop group1963
supergroup1968
rap group1969
garage band1974
hair band1989
popular beat combo1990
covers band1991
1969 Los Angeles Times 27 Sept. i. 22/1 A place where teenagers can go for small ‘rap’ groups led by experienced adult leaders.
1980 Washington Post 31 Aug. g2/5 Another rap group, the Sugarhill Gang.
1987 R. Shilts And Band played On (1988) iv. xii. 123 A volunteer grief counselor with a Berkeley death-and-dying group..had started a rap group of KS patients.
2003 Creativity May 48/2 This rap group..chose to skip the typical champagne-drenched, oversized-butt fest in the mansion.
rap metal n. Music a genre combining musical elements of heavy metal with a vocal delivery derived from rap.
ΚΠ
1986 N.Y. Times 29 Dec. c17/1 The Beastie Boys..have made rap-metal music a vehicle for teen-agers' jokey, antisocial fantasies.
2002 Time 28 Jan. 53/3 Part of the problem is a broader perception that rap-metal fusion is still a bit of a gimmick.
rap music n. = sense 8c.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > pop music > [noun] > other pop music
a cappella1905
soundclash1925
marabi1933
doo-wop1958
filk1959
folk-rock1963
Liverpool sound1963
Mersey beat1963
Mersey sound1963
surf music1963
malombo1964
mbaqanga1964
easy listening1965
disco music1966
Motown1966
boogaloo1967
power pop1967
psychedelia1967
yé-yé1967
agitpop1968
bubblegum1968
Tamla Motown1968
Tex-Mex1968
downtempo1969
taarab1969
thrash1969
world music1969
funk1970
MOR1970
tropicalism1970
Afrobeat1971
electro-pop1971
post-rock1971
techno-pop1971
Tropicalia1971
tropicalismo1971
disco1972
Krautrock1972
schlager1973
Afropop1974
punk funk1974
disco funk1975
Europop1976
mgqashiyo1976
P-funk1976
funkadelia1977
karaoke music1977
alternative music1978
hardcore1978
psychobilly1978
punkabilly1978
R&B1978
cowpunk1979
dangdut1979
hip-hop1979
Northern Soul1979
rap1979
rapping1979
jit1980
trance1980
benga1981
New Romanticism1981
post-punk1981
rap music1981
scratch1982
scratch-music1982
synth-pop1982
electro1983
garage1983
Latin1983
Philly1983
New Age1984
New Age music1985
ambient1986
Britpop1986
gangster rap1986
house1986
house music1986
mbalax1986
rai1986
trot1986
zouk1986
bhangra1987
garage1987
hip-house1987
new school1987
old school1987
thrashcore1987
acid1988
acid house1988
acid jazz1988
ambience1988
Cantopop1988
dance1988
deep house1988
industrial1988
swingbeat1988
techno1988
dream pop1989
gangsta rap1989
multiculti1989
new jack swing1989
noise-pop1989
rave1989
Tejano1989
breakbeat1990
chill-out music1990
indie1990
new jack1990
new jill swing1990
noisecore1990
baggy1991
drum and bass1991
gangsta1991
handbag house1991
hip-pop1991
loungecore1991
psychedelic trance1991
shoegazing1991
slowcore1991
techno-house1991
gabba1992
jungle1992
sadcore1992
UK garage1992
darkcore1993
dark side1993
electronica1993
G-funk1993
sampladelia1994
trip hop1994
break1996
psy-trance1996
nu skool1997
folktronica1999
dubstep2002
Bongo Flava2003
grime2003
Bongo2004
singeli2015
1981 Washington Post 27 Mar. 15/3 Dub, a producer's art whose American counterpart is rap music, has the current stronghold largely because of its more urban flavor.
1990 Billboard 24 Nov. 11/1 Rap music has captured the hearts and minds of an entire generation, across gender and racial lines.
2002 ‘H. Hill’ Flight from Deathrow xlv. 258 Ma joined a gospel choir; pa took an interest in rap music.
rap parlour n. now rare = rap club n. (a).
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > brothel
houseOE
bordelc1300
whorehousec1330
stew1362
bordel housec1384
stewc1384
stivec1386
stew-house1436
bordelryc1450
brothel house1486
shop?1515
bains1541
common house1545
bawdy-house1552
hothouse1556
bordello1581
brothela1591
trugging house1591
trugging place1591
nunnery1593
vaulting-house1596
leaping house1598
Pickt-hatch1598
garden house1606
vaulting-school1606
flesh-shambles1608
whore-sty1621
bagnioa1640
public house1640
harlot-house1641
warrena1649
academy1650
call house1680
coney burrow1691
case1699
nanny-house1699
house of ill reputea1726
smuggling-ken1725
kip1766
Corinth1785
disorderly house1809
flash-house1816
dress house1823
nanny-shop1825
house of tolerance1842
whore shop1843
drum1846
introducing house1846
khazi1846
fast house1848
harlotry1849
maison de tolérance1852
knocking-shop1860
lupanar1864
assignation house1870
parlour house1871
hook shop1889
sporting house1894
meat house1896
massage parlour1906
case house1912
massage establishment1921
moll-shop1923
camp1925
notch house1926
creep joint1928
slaughterhouse1928
maison de convenance1930
cat-house1931
Bovril1936
maison close1939
joy-house1940
rib joint1940
gaff1947
maison de passe1960
rap parlour1973
1973 Los Angeles Times 6 June vi. 4/4 Down where they used to have those massage parlours, they have discovered something brand new that is called a ‘rap parlour’.
1984 N.Y. Times 11 Nov. ii. 30/1 His wife, Jane..works in what, in New York, used to be called a ‘rap parlor’.
rap partner n. slang a person with whom one is arrested for the same crime; a partner in crime.
ΚΠ
1946 R. M. Lindner Stone Walls & Men xxii. 430 They get messages through to old ‘rap partners’.
1971 Black Scholar Sept. 37/1 He thought about..the four rap partners he had on his last beef.
1994 C. Howard Love's Blood 511 He even refers to you as his..rap partner, or co-defendant.
rap session n. colloquial an informal group discussion, esp. one in which the frank exchange of personal feelings is encouraged.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > [noun] > topic of or subject for conversation or gossip > discussion > type of discussion
causerie1827
rag chawing1885
jobation1916
panel discussion1934
wash-up1961
teach-in1965
talk-in1967
rap session1968
whataboutery1974
whataboutism1978
1968 Washington Post 6 May b3/3 The group's Friday night ‘rap’ sessions..are proving to be ‘open and therapeutic’.
1992 Discov. YMCA Fall 16/2 The workshops evolved into very private, personal rap sessions that flowed from one topic to another, from intimacy to honesty to desires.
2002 J. Kellerman Murder Bk. 127 General purpose rap session. The leader tried to draw her out, but Caroline never talked, would just stare at the floor and pretend not to hear.
rap sheet n. colloquial a police record; (also in extended use) a list of offences.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police records
police blotter1861
charge-sheet1866
murder book1876
blotter1887
charge-book1890
crime sheet1902
mug book1902
occurrence book1929
rap sheet1949
sheet1958
murder file1967
murder log1972
1949 Pacific Reporter 2nd Ser. 208 189/1 Where is that ‘rap sheet’, I thought I had it right here... How many times has Mr. Taylor been arrested for selling intoxicating liquor?
1974 J. Willwerth Jones: Portrait of Mugger viii. 116 Arraigned and charged with two counts of felony robbery—backed up by a rap-sheet containing burglary, shoplifting, and heroin-related arrests.
1992 W. Greider Who will tell People iii. xv. 350 General Electric, for instance, is certainly not the worst ‘corporate citizen’ in the land, but the company has accumulated an impressive rap sheet in recent years.
2005 Independent 21 Nov. 26/6 According to one detective, her rap sheet is more than six feet long and she has served jail sentences in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Colorado and Wisconsin.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
rapn.3
/rap/, U.S. /ræp/, Scottish English /rap/ Now English regional (south-western) and Scottish (Orkney).
A strip of land, esp. one given over to growing plants or crops.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > [noun] > narrow strip of land
swathc1325
runrig1437
raina1450
selionc1450
rundale1474
quillet1533
rig length1616
plank1631
narrow land1640
rap1710
run-ridge1741
rean1781
slinget1790
slip1837
1710 London Gaz. No. 4714/4 A Rapp of Ground ranging along from the Mills.
1884 Rep. Provinc. in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1904) V. 38/1 A house with a long rap of garden.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. (at cited word) I've got a rap o' taties over in Mr. Hosegood's field.
1903 W. F. Rose in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1904) V. 37/2 Perhaps you might find a couple of raps that would grow potatoes.
1929 H. Marwick Orkney Norn (at cited word) The lower, middle and upper rap o' Knarston.
1969 G. E. Evans Farm & Village iii. 34 A stetch..is known by various names: ridge, rigg, land, rap, stitch.
1988 G. Lamb Orkney Wordbk. Rap, a strip of arable ground.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
rapn.4
/rap/, U.S. /ræp/, Irish English /ræp/ Originally Irish English.
1.
a. A counterfeit coin, inherently worth virtually nothing, but used as currency in Ireland in the 18th cent. at the value of an English halfpenny or farthing, owing to the scarcity of genuine copper coinage. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > false coin > [noun] > specific
crockard1300
lushburg1346
pollarda1387
rosarya1387
eagle1577
Leonine1577
morgan1659
rap1724
mitre1749
Paduan1770
Bungtown copper or cent1787
rap halfpenny1787
stampee1795
Jack1851
1724 J. Swift Let. to Shop-keepers of Ireland (new ed.) 3 Copper half-pence or farthings..have been for some time very scarce, and many Counterfeits passed about under the Name of Raps.
1776 R. Twiss Tour Ireland 73 The beggars..offering a bad halfpenny, which they call a rap.
1827 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae xxx, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 105 Ane o' the bawbees o' an obsolete sort..what they ca' an Eerish rap.
1862 Notes & Queries 15 Mar. 212/1 Counterfeit coins, called raps, were in common use, made of such bad metal, that what passed for a half-penny was not worth half a farthing.
1957 B. Evans & C. Evans Dict. Contemp. Amer. Usage 84/2 A rap was a counterfeit farthing. A farthing is worth about half a cent.
2004 D. Ó Muirithe Gloss. Irish Slang 108 The rap was originally a counterfeit coin used in the eighteenth century when there was a copper shortage.
b. Used as the type of a coin of the least possible value. Chiefly in negative contexts, as without a rap, not a rap, etc. Now rare.With quot. 1778 cf. not to give a rap at sense 1c, not to give a toss at toss n.1 6d.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > sum of money > [noun] > small sum > coin as type of
pennya1225
sumc1300
mitea1375
minutec1384
groat1513
souse1570
widow's mite1572
stivera1640
brass farthing1642
shilling1737
rap1778
skilligalee1834
skillick1835
steever1892
razoo1919
1778 H. Brooke Contending Brothers v. iv. 194 The divil himself vwoudn't give dthe toss of a rap fwor all her ugley carkige; and yet her vword will pass, do you see me, fwor twenty thousand a year.
c1805 G. Colman in M. R. Booth Eng. Plays of 19th Cent. (1973) III. 88 Damn him..who would cheat a poor girl..for the value of a rap!
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XI lxxxiv. 145 I have seen the landholders without a rap.
1830 F. Marryat King's Own II. xv. 227 ‘You must fork out.’ ‘Not a rap.’
1881 M. E. Braddon Asphodel II. iv. 93 A man who dies and leaves not a rap behind him.
1910 P. W. Joyce Eng. as we speak it in Ireland xiii. 310 He hasn't a rap in his pocket.
c. figurative. A jot; the least bit. Chiefly in negative contexts, as not to care (also give, matter, be worth, etc.) a rap.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > the smallest amount > a jot
cornc888
grotc888
prickleOE
prickOE
pointc1300
grain1377
hair1377
motec1390
twynt1399
mitec1400
tarec1405
drop1413
ace?1440
tittlea1450
whita1450
jot1526
Jack1530
plack1530
farthingc1540
minima1585
scintil1599
atom1626
scintillation1650
punct1653
doit1660
scintilla1674
rap1792
haet1802
dottle1808
smiggot1823
hooter1839
heartbeat1855
pick1866
filament1868
hoot1878
1792 T. Hurlstone Just in Time iii. 60 O'Liffey would not give a rap for your love, unless your heart was flung into the bargain.
1834 W. H. Ainsworth Rookwood II. iii. v. 361 For the Mare-with-three-legs [sc. the gallows], boys, I care not a rap.
1862 W. C. Bennett Poems & Ballads 76 The player was one not worth a rap.
1875 Punch 18 Sept. 113/2 It don't matter a rap whether it's rough or fine.
1928 B. Shaw Intell. Woman's Guide Socialism (1929) xx. 66 She..does not care a rap whether other women are well-dressed or not.
1963 A. Clarke Flight to Afr. 44 Bad ones, who do not give a rap For law.
2005 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 27 Nov. a14 All the other worthy reforms..are not going to be worth a rap if the buildings continue to fall apart.
2. figurative. A worthless person; a rascal, a good-for-nothing. Now chiefly Irish English.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > worthlessness > worthless person > [noun]
ribalda1250
brethelingc1275
filec1300
waynouna1350
waster1352
lorel1362
losel1362
land-leaper1377
javelc1400
leftc1400
lorerc1400
shackerellc1420
brethel1440
never-thrift1440
ne'er-thrifta1450
never-thrivinga1450
nebulona1475
breelc1485
naughty pack?1534
brathel1542
unsel155.
pelf1551
wandrel?1567
land-loper1570
scald1575
baggage1594
arrant1605
good-for-nothing1611
hilding1611
vauneant1621
idle-pack1624
thimble-maker1654
never-do-well1664
ne'er-be-good1675
shack1682
vagabond1686
shag-bag1699
houndsfoot1710
blackguard1732
ne'er-do-well1737
trumpery1738
rap1742
good-for-naught1773
rip1781
mauvais sujet1793
scamp1808
waffie1808
loose fish1809
ne'er-do-good1814
hard bargain1818
vaurien1829
sculpin1834
shicer1846
wastrel1847
scallywag1848
shack-bag1855
beat1865
rodney1877
git1939
no-hoper1944
piss artist1962
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [noun] > worthlessness > good-for-nothing person
brethelingc1275
filec1300
dogc1330
ribald1340
waynouna1350
waster1352
lorel1362
losel1362
land-leaper1377
triflera1382
brothelc1390
javelc1400
leftc1400
lorerc1400
shackerellc1420
brethel1440
never-thrift1440
vagrant1444
ne'er-thrifta1450
never-thrivinga1450
nebulona1475
breelc1485
naughty pack?1534
brathel1542
carrion1547
slim1548
unsel155.
pelf1551
shifterc1562
rag1566
wandrel?1567
land-loper1570
nothing-worth1580
baggage1594
roly-poly1602
bash-rag1603
arrant1605
ragabash?1609
flabergullion1611
hilding1611
hard bargain1612
slubberdegullion1612
vauneant1621
knick-knacker1622
idle-pack1624
slabberdegullion1653
thimble-maker1654
whiffler1659
never-do-well1664
good-for-nought1671
ne'er-be-good1675
shack1682
vagabond1686
shabaroon1699
shag-bag1699
houndsfoot1710
ne'er-do-well1737
trumpery1738
rap1742
hallion1789
scamp1808
waffie1808
ne'er-do-good1814
vaurien1829
sculpin1834
shicer1846
good-for-nothing1847
wastrel1847
scallywag1848
shack-bag1855
beat1865
toe-rag1875
rodney1877
toe-ragger1896
low-lifer1902
punk1904
lowlife1909
ringtail1916
git1939
no-hoper1944
schlub1950
piss artist1962
dead leg1964
1742 S. Morris Let. 16 Oct. in G. D. Hist. Lavinia Rawlins (1756) II. 152 For all the Villain has had nine Guineas of me, that Rogue Rap never appeared.
1771 R. Cumberland Let. 4 July in D. Garrick Private Corr. (1831) I. 426 Assisted by a jury of printers, compilers, devils, hawkers, and raps of all sorts.
1791 H. B. Dudley Woodman ii. xii. 61 Time!—oh, have as little to do with that old rap as you can help.
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xix. 168 What do you mean, you rap?—do you intend to say I'm drunk?
1884 D. Grant Lays & Legends of North 92 Even Davey Roe, the rap, Laugh'd till his sides were splittin'.
1950 M. Molloy King of Friday's Men iii, in Plays of Year 1949 400 Biddy, watch over this rap.
1996 S. Moylan Lang. Kilkenny Rap, a term of abuse for a forward child... A bould rap.
Compounds
attributive. Designating a counterfeit or debased coin of little value, as rap farthing, rap halfpenny. Also figurative and in extended use (cf. senses 1b, 1c). Now historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > false coin > [noun] > specific
crockard1300
lushburg1346
pollarda1387
rosarya1387
eagle1577
Leonine1577
morgan1659
rap1724
mitre1749
Paduan1770
Bungtown copper or cent1787
rap halfpenny1787
stampee1795
Jack1851
1787 G. Bouverie Georgina III. xxi. 105 I don't value your disdain;—no, not a rap farthing.
1792 Lessons to Young Chancellor 44 If you had seen Lord L—d go into your coach, you'd have said, ‘damn the blockhead, he looks like a rap half-penny set in gold.’
1797 J. Beete Man of Times ii. vi. 29 If I was as she, I would not care a rap halfpenny about him.
1864 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 392 It is not of very great moment to me that I am now and then imposed on by a ‘rap halfpenny’.
1881 J. Sargisson Joe Scoap's Jurneh (E.D.D.) 218 As fer t'stays, they warn't worth t'toss up of a rap-hopenny.
1916 Mod. Philol. 14 108 Rap-farthing, rap half-penny, counterfeit coin of bad metal.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
rapn.5
/rap/, U.S. /ræp/ Now English regional and rare.
An exchange, a swap (esp. of horses).
ΚΠ
1755 W. Huggins & T. H. Croker tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso II. xxx. v I, for your nag, incline To make a rap of this same mare of mine.
1790 Proc. Old Bailey 24 Feb. 457/1 I told him I had a mare, and I would make a rap with him.
1838 W. Holloway Gen. Dict. Provincialisms (at cited word) ‘Will you buy this horse of me?’.. ‘No I will not buy him, but I will give you a “Rap” for him.’
1905 Eng. Dial. Dict. V. 39/1 Capical good mare her is, mind. I had her in a rap wi' George Toms vor th' old oss and dree poun'.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
rapn.6
/rap/, U.S. /ræp/ Now historical and rare.
A skein typically containing between 80 and 140 yards of yarn, the precise amount varying according to region. Cf. lea n.4
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > thread or yarn > [noun] > skein or hank
hasp1390
skeinc1440
slipping1541
hank1575
sling1644
rap1776
1776–7 Act 17 Geo. III c. 11 §11 Every..hank of..yarn shall..contain seven raps or leas, and..every such rap or lea shall..contain eighty threads.
1794 Statutes at Large, 30-34 Geo. III 173 Every Hank or Skein that shall be used as a Binder to tie up or bind together any Pound or Parcel of Yarn shall contain the same Number of Threads in a Rap or Lea.
1860 C. Tomlinson Arts & Manuf. 1st Ser. ii. 29 As the sides of the reel measure one yard and a half, a ley or rap is thus formed, containing 120 yards. Seven of these raps make one hank.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1880/2 Rap, a lay or skein, containing 120 yards of yarn.
1971 Business Hist. Rev. 45 361 (table) 80 threads=1 rap/lea=140 yds.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† rapv.1
Obsolete.
1. intransitive. To move with speed; to hasten, rush. Also transitive (reflexive).In quot. a1500: (of the eye) to dart, flicker.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > move swiftly in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > move with urgent speed
rempeOE
fuseOE
rakeOE
hiec1175
i-fusec1275
rekec1275
hastec1300
pellc1300
platc1300
startc1300
buskc1330
rapc1330
rapec1330
skip1338
firk1340
chase1377
raikc1390
to hie one's waya1400
catchc1400
start?a1505
spur1513
hasten1534
to make speed1548
post1553
hurry1602
scud1602
curry1608
to put on?1611
properate1623
post-haste1628
whirryc1630
dust1650
kite1854
to get a move on1888
to hump it1888
belt1890
to get (or put) one's skates on1895
hotfoot1896
to rattle one's dags1968
shimmy1969
c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 1900 He and þe geaunt togedre rapte And delde strokes mani & fale.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. iv. 23 (MED) Concience on his Capul Carieþ forþ Faste, And Resun with him Rideþ Rappynge Swiþe.
a1450 Dux Moraud in N. Davis Non-Cycle Plays & Fragm. (1970) 107 (MED) Rap þe faste in þi way And cum hom sone ageyne.
a1475 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 239 Þe clowdes gan clappe, The elementes gonne to rusche & rappe And smet downe chirches & templis.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 369 I am so ferd I wold feyn fle..I renne, I rappe, so wo is me.
a1500 (a1450) tr. Secreta Secret. (Ashm. 396) (1977) 103 (MED) Sothly, whos applis now wrappen [read rappen] and rynneth, now theder and theder..that shewith the badnesse that he ymagyneth.
2. transitive. To hurry up. rare.
ΚΠ
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) i. 55 They rappe vp theyr seruyce as faste as they can for haste to be at their worke.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
rapv.2
/rap/, U.S. /ræp/ I. Senses relating to striking, knocking, or making a sharp noise.† 5. transitive. Of the sky or a god: to send (thunder, etc.) loudly, as with a clap. With forth or out. Obsolete.
1. transitive. To strike, hit. In early use: to strike (esp. a person) forcefully. Now: to strike (a person or thing) in a sharp, usually relatively light, manner. Also occasionally intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > strike [verb (transitive)] > specific animate object
drepeOE
smitec1200
buffet?c1225
strike1377
rapa1400
seta1400
frontc1400
ballc1450
throw1488
to bear (a person) a blow1530
fetch1556
douse1559
knetcha1564
slat1577
to hit any one a blow1597
wherret1599
alapate1609
shock1614
baske1642
measure1652
plump1785
jow1802
nobble1841
scuff1841
clump1864
bust1873
plonk1874
to sock it to1877
dot1881
biff1888
dong1889
slosh1890
to soak it to1892
to cop (a person) one1898
poke1906
to hang one on1908
bop1931
clonk1949
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > administer corporal punishment [verb (transitive)] > beat
threshOE
beatc1000
to lay on?c1225
chastise1362
rapa1400
dressc1405
lack?c1475
paya1500
currya1529
coil1530
cuff1530
baste1533
thwack1533
lick1535
firka1566
trounce1568
fight1570
course1585
bumfeage1589
feague1589
lamback1589
lambskin1589
tickle1592
thrash1593
lam1595
bumfeagle1598
comb1600
fer1600
linge1600
taw1600
tew1600
thrum1604
feeze1612
verberate1614
fly-flap1620
tabor1624
lambaste1637
feak1652
flog1676
to tan (a person's) hide1679
slipper1682
liquora1689
curry-comb1708
whack1721
rump1735
screenge1787
whale1790
lather1797
tat1819
tease1819
larrup1823
warm1824
haze1825
to put (a person) through a course of sprouts1839
flake1841
swish1856
hide1875
triangle1879
to give (a person or thing) gyp1887
soak1892
to loosen (a person's) hide1902
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > strike in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > sharply or smartly
daba1307
rap1530
flirt1570
knipsea1572
fillip1577
yowf1788
swata1800
snop1849
clip1855
snick1880
blip1924
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific degree of force > strike with specific degree of force [verb (transitive)] > strike lightly
thackc897
tap?c1225
touchc1330
strike1488
tip1567
tit1589
tat1607
dib1609
bob1745
popc1817
percuss1827
rap1873
a1400 (?a1350) Seege Troye (Egerton) (1927) 748 (MED) Mony a mannes hed foro þe body he rappeþ.
c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. i. 93 Kinges & kniȝtes shulde kepe it..riden & rappe [v.r. rapely to rensake; c1400 B textv.r. Riden and repen] doun in reaumes aboute And taken trespassours.
a1500 Promptorium Parvulorum (BL Add. 37789) 423 Rappyn, or smytyn, percucio.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 679/1 I shall rappe you on the costarde if you playe the knave.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 13007 He put hir in prison..And all the Rebellis full rad rappit to dethe.
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande ii. f. 5/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I It [sc. a toad]..sodenly reculed backe, as though it had bene rapte in the hed.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxxiv. xv. 863 If he espied any one to step out of his rank, he would..rap him with his light javelin.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 971 Rapt the said Resuan once or twise about the pate.
1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads 175 So thick they did the Trojan armours rap.
1790 Short Journey in W. Indies II. 40 Her mistress called her to her, and taking up her shoe rapped her head with the heel of it with great violence and rapidity.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xx. 201 ‘Dombey,’ said the Major, rapping him on the arm with his cane, ‘don't be thoughtful.’
1873 ‘Ouida’ Pascarèl I. iii. 34 Fortunato could rap both feet and hands sharply enough with his bow.
1899 F. Norris McTeague xx. 386 From time to time he rapped the drill with a pole-pick when it stuck fast or fitchered.
1931 Jrnl. Educ. Sociol. 5 141 He rapped me seven times with his fist.
1993 J. M. Yates Line Screw ix. 158 Most of the energy was out of the projectile by the time it rapped him on the napper.
2. transitive. To drive, dash, knock (a thing, esp. a part of the body) sharply, usually against a hard surface. Frequently with against, on (formerly †to), etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > impinge upon [verb (transitive)] > cause to impinge > forcibly or violently
knocka1340
runa1425
rap1440
jowlc1470
dauda1572
sousea1593
bedash1609
bob1612
hit1639
bump1673
bebump1694
boup1715
bonk1929
prang1952
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 423 Rappyn, or smytyn a thynge aȝen a-noþer, collido, allido.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 388 (MED) He rappid his head agayn þe wall.
c1450 (a1375) Octavian (Calig.) (1979) 1439 (MED) In þe stedes mouþ he rapte An huge brydel.
1539 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 161 Thai..tuk him be the hair and rappit his heid to the wall.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 367 A great ship..quhilk albeit rapit on a craig chaipet saife.
1630 in S. Ree Rec. Elgin (1908) II. 216 Thomas Innes..spake..rapeing his hand upon the burd.
a1734 J. Clarke tr. Ovid Metamorphoses (1735) xii. 364 Macareus knocked down the Pelethronian Erygdupus, by rapping a bar upon his breast.
1794 J. Rowlin Compl. Cow-Doctor 196 Symptoms are continued striking and fidging; lying down and getting up again; incessantly rapping its head and horns against any thing that comes in its way.
1818 S. E. Ferrier Marriage III. xii. 182 Rapping his knuckles against a volume he held in his hand.
1842 H. W. Herbert Sporting Scenes & Sundry Sketches I. 76 He turned slowly upon his heel, rapped the rattan in his hand hard upon his leg, and walked away.
1853 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes (1854) I. i. 9 Some wags..clinked their glasses and rapped their sticks.
1940 E. Hemingway For whom Bell Tolls xvi. 202 Anselmo and Fernando were still shaking the snow from their jackets, beating their trousers and rapping their feet against the wall by the entrance.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 15 Jan. 19/6 Keon rapped in Mahovlich's rebound to make it 5–0 and Oliver tipped in Hillman's slap shot during a power play to complete the scoring.
1998 R. Price Freedomland i. v. 103 He rapped his black leather glove on the side of the table.
3.
a. intransitive. To strike a hard surface (esp. a door) sharply, and often rapidly in succession; to make a sharp knocking or banging sound. Frequently with on or at.Sometimes of a spirit or a medium at a seance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sound of blow or fall > [verb (intransitive)] > knock
rap1440
bounce1570
rap-tap1800
rat-tat1824
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > strike in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > so as to produce a sound > knock
knockc1000
tapc1425
rap1440
chopa1522
knap1535
knack1570
chap1774
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 423 Rappyn, or knokkyn at a dore, pulso.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) iii. 312 (MED) There nedeth the not neyther rynge ne rap; The gate shal open lightly at a swap.
1543 ( Chron. J. Hardyng (1812) 132 (MED) Sodenly doores and wyndowes al clapped With hydeous noyce..Opened and sperred, al by theim selfs fast rapped.
a1586 King Hart l. 437 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 268 He rappit at the ȝet but courtaslie.
1599 S. Harsnett Discov. Fraudulent Pract. I. Darrel 181 His toe rapping on the Ende of the Bedstocke.
1613 J. Hayward Liues III. Normans 15 Here he continued rapping at the gate..vntill it was opened.
1678 T. Duffett Psyche Debauch'd v. ii. 76 No Gallant e'r shall rap at dore.
1720 D. Defoe Vision of Angelic World in Serious Refl. 62 It would be a great Scandal upon the Devil, that he had nothing to employ himself in, more significant, than Rapping all Night with a Hammer to fright and disturb the Neighbours.
1753 T. Gray Long Story in Six Poems 17 The heroines..Rap'd at the door, nor stay'd to ask, [etc.].
1792 R. Bage Man as he Is I. xv. 174 Fidel rapped long and loud, no one came to answer.
1860 All Year Round 28 July 372 The spirits only rapped when the younger medium was present.
1883 Cent. Mag. Aug. 594/2 They rapped on the counter with their pencils for the cash-boy.
1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 95 A handful of bullets whipped and rapped about them as they tumbled over and the stretcher was hoisted in.
1972 S. Chance Septimus & Minster Ghost (1974) vii. 72 He went into a trance and rapped away like mad.
1992 R. Harris Fatherland iv. 253 He rapped on the counter and shouted: ‘Shop!’
b. transitive. To knock or bang on (a hard surface, esp. a door) sharply (and often rapidly in succession), so as to make a rapping sound.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sound of blow or fall > sound of blow [verb (transitive)] > knock
rap1676
rat-tat1882
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > strike in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > so as to make a sound > knock
knellc950
chopa1375
knap?a1500
knock1623
rap1676
knubble1721
knobble?1795
1676 J. M. Sports & Pastimes 4 The better to deceive, you may rap the edge of wyer wth your small stick.
1718 M. Prior Dove 33 With one great peal they rap the door, Like footmen on a visiting day.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 292 He notes it in his book, then raps his box.
1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend II. iii. v. 33 Sharply rapping the table.
1956 N. Algren Walk on Wild Side ii. 144 He would pick up his sample case and lug on, rapping a front door or rapping a rear.
1996 Spy (N.Y.) Holiday Issue 17/2 Courtesy Knock: Rapping the table twice with the knuckles before leaving the dinner table. Failure to do so is a clear sign of disrespect.
c. transitive. With off or out. To knock out or dislodge (a clinging substance, residual matter, etc.) with a sharp blow or a series of such blows.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > strike or knock out
to knock outa1616
rap1795
to hit out1838
1795 J. Bonner New Plan Bee-hives xviii. 144 If they [sc. bees] should not unite in a friendly manner, let both be turned up, the strange bees rapped out, and each hive restored to its former situation.
1830 B. Hall Trav. N. Amer. 1827 & 1828 (ed. 3) III. i. 6 The members, instead of attending to what is spoken, are busied..in writing letters—rapping the sand off the wet ink with their knuckles.
1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk II. 192 All three rapped the unconsumed tobacco out of their pipes.
1855 Sci. Amer. 23 Dec. 115/3 I had a conversation with the workmen,..in reference to the dust that they were rapping off with a flat piece of board from the face of the stone they were hammering.
1906 H. M. Raymond Cycl. Mod. Shop Practice II. 492 When cleaning by hand, the worst of the sand is rapped off by light hammering, the remainder scraped off with old files and steel wire brushes.
1996 H. E. Hesketh Air Pollution Control 282 Field strength oscillates as dust builds up and is rapped off both the discharge and collector electrode.
d. transitive. With out (also off). To produce (a rhythm, signal, etc.) by a series of raps; to tap out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [verb (transitive)] > rap out (message)
rap1857
1857 Brit. Spiritual Tel. 11 July 43 When a letter is thus rapped off, begin again at ‘A’ and as you come at the letters needed to constitute the name, they will be rapped off.
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities i. i. 1 The Cock-lane ghost had been laid only a round dozen of years, after rapping out its messages, as the spirits of this very year last past..rapped out theirs.
1911 D. H. Lawrence Prussian Officer (1914) 282 The winding-engine rapped out its little spasms. The miners were being turned up.
1945 Music Educators Jrnl. 32 27/2 She rapped out neatly on her desk the three-quarter-note rhythm of The Blue Danube.
1952 R. Campbell Light on Dark Horse i. 13 The Indian clerk, besieged in the telegraph office, rapped off an S.O.S.
1990 J. Wambaugh Golden Orange iv. 41 His incredible ability to rap out the beat of any popular song with a pair of inverted tablespoons.
4. intransitive. Scottish. To fall sharply, smartly, or heavily; to fall in a shower, to rain or patter down, on, etc. Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) records this sense as still in use in Orkney and Shetland in 1967.
ΚΠ
1508 W. Dunbar Goldyn Targe (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems (1998) I. 190 The schour of arowis rappit on as rayn.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 69 The dartis..rappit on sa rudlie with greit reird.
a1586 J. Stewart Poems (1913) 47 As schour of hailstains rappan on the thak.
1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess i. 64 By this time the tears came rapping down.
1784 in G. Caw Poet. Museum 61 Oh mensfu' John! Our tears came rapping down in spates, Since thou art gone.
1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 34 Tears rappit down the dreamer's cheeks.
1834 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae lxix in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 832 You're greetin too! The tears rap, rap, rappin doon your nose like hailstanes.
ΚΠ
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. iii. 96 The brokin skyis rappis furth thunderis levin.
1581 J. Studley tr. Seneca Agamemnon (new ed.) iii, in T. Newton et al. tr. Seneca 10 Trag. f. 152 Nor yet the burning firy flakes of Ioue the same doth doubt, When wrongfully with thwacking thumpes he raps his thunder out.
1624 F. Quarles Iob Militant sig. O2v Oncemore the Mouth of heauen rapt forth a voice.
6. intransitive. Of a gun: to go off with a sharp sound. Also transitive: (of a person) to fire off (a bullet or a burst of ammunition).
ΚΠ
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. ix. 262 The pistols and the carabines of the troopers..rappit aff the tane after the tother.
1916 B. Cable Action Replay 132 The guns slowed down their rate of fire, merely rapping off an occasional few rounds.
1918 ‘B. Cable’ Air Men o' War ii. 21 Spotty jerked a signal that he was going to fire, and taking careful sight rapped off about twenty rounds.
2001 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 18 Apr. n1 She is totally focused on the torso-shaped target and raps off a series of rounds from her semi-automatic assault rifle.
7. transitive. Baseball. To hit (the ball) sharply; to make (a particular hit, run, etc.) by hitting the ball in such a manner. Frequently with out.
ΚΠ
1875 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 26 Oct. The eighth inning, the Flyaways..could only get one, this being Peit, who rapped the ball out to Aleck.
1911 Washington Post 5 July 8/3 Conroy did much to bring victory home,..rapping out a home run, a double, and a single.
1970 R. Coover Universal Baseball Assoc. 6 Locke had been rapping the ball well lately.
2000 St. John's (Newfoundland) Telegram (Nexis) 6 June 19 Ryan O'Neil..went two-for-two, including a home run, and rapped out three RBIs.
II. Senses relating to talk or speech of a particular style.
8.
a. transitive. Usually with out. To utter (words, speech, etc.) sharply or suddenly; to snap out; (esp. in early use) to swear (an oath) vigorously. In later use frequently with direct speech as object.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > speak, say, or utter [verb (transitive)] > suddenly
rap1541
squib1596
to let off1714
1541 T. Wyatt Defence in K. Muir Life & Lett. (1963) 199 I am wonte some tyme to rappe owte an othe in an erneste tawlke.
1589 J. Lyly Pappe with Hatchet sig. E2 No more did one of his minions, that thinking to rap out an oath and sweare by his conscience, mistooke the word and swore by his concupiscence.
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xxvii. ii. 305 In bragging wise rapping out nothing but vaine sounds and noyses of threats.
1635 F. Quarles Emblemes i. x. 41 One raps an oath; another deales a curse.
1694 J. Dryden Love Triumphant i. i. 14 You shall hear me rap out all the Oaths in Christendom, that I am wholly Innocent of this Accusation.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews II. iii. ii. 24 Adams then rapt out a hundred Greek Verses. View more context for this quotation
1777 Whole Proc. Jockey & Maggy (rev. ed.) i. 8 Some cuist water in his face, and jagg'd him wi' a needle; till he began to rouze himsel up, and rap out broken words.
1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 208 (note) My orator raps out a pun.
1879 Macmillan's Mag. Oct. 501 A reeler came up to me and rapped (said), ‘Now—you had better guy,..or else I shall give you a drag (three months in prison).’
1880 R. Browning Clive 203 Out he rapped Such a round of oaths.
1887 J. W. Horsley Jottings from Jail i. 7 So I said, ‘All right,’ but he rapped, ‘It is not all right.’
1951 M. McLuhan Mech. Bride 60/2 An indignant girl who raps out, ‘You've had it!’
1977 C. McCullough Thorn Birds ii. 31 That dry old voice rapped a curt question at her.
1991 A. Knight Evil that Men Do x, in Inspector Faro's Casebk: Second Omnibus (1996) 475 ‘What is all this about?’ he rapped out sharply.
b. intransitive. slang (esp. Criminals' slang). To bear witness; to give evidence (esp. falsely); to inform, to ‘rat’ or ‘squeal’. Also transitive: to give as (false) evidence; to swear; to confess or tell (sometimes with clause as object). Frequently with against or to.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > bear witness, testify [verb (intransitive)]
to bear (one) witnesslOE
witne?c1225
to bear witnessinga1300
to bear recordc1330
testimonyc1330
testify1377
witnessc1380
recordc1400
militatec1600
suffragate1620
testate1624
depone1640
attest1672
rap1728
certify1874
certificate1907
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > attest, bear witness [verb (transitive)]
witne?c1225
witnessa1300
testimonyc1330
record1340
testify1393
depose1529
detest1562
voucher1609
voucha1616
evidence1620
bespeak1674
rap1728
assert1821
1728 J. Dalton Genuine Narr. Street Robberies 11 The Whores are our Safe-guard;..they'll rap for us.
1733 E. Budgell Bee I. 207 He ask'd me what they had to rap against me, I told him only a Tankard.
1733 E. Budgell Bee I. 213 We will get them that will rap the Tankard was your grandmother's.
1770 F. Gentleman Dramatic Censor I. 290 This dispute catching Portia's ear, she justifies Nerissa's resentment, which occasions Gratiano to rap off that Bassiano gave his ring away.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue To rap, to take a false oath.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian viii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 209 It's..hard, that when three words of your mouth would give the girl the chance,..that you mak sure scrupling about rapping to them.
1865 Leaves from Diary Celebrated Burglar 141/1 The old ‘splodger’ ‘rapped’ that Mary Ann ‘nailed’ him.
1865 Leaves from Diary Celebrated Burglar 150/2 The old ‘sploger’ could ‘rap’ nothing against us, for he had never seen us before.
1922 S. J. Weyman Ovington's Bank (1926) xvii. 188 Thinks I, it'll be a knife in the back..for me if he's heard I've rapped.
1929 Sat. Evening Post 12 Jan. 72/3 ‘Remember now, don't rap anything to Swinnerton.’.. ‘I'm not goin' to talk,’ Barr answered.
1969 J. Reese Pity us All xix. 205 Albert was still shaking in withdraw[a]l, or he wouldn't have rapped to Arnold.
c. intransitive. colloquial (chiefly U.S.). To talk; spec. (originally in African-American use) to talk or chat in an easy or discursive manner; to engage in stylized speech or banter; (also) to establish or maintain a rapport, to communicate (with a person). Cf. rap n.2 8.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > converse [verb (intransitive)] > chat
dallyc1300
confablec1450
crack1529
tattle1547
chat1551
confabulate1604
confab1741
prosea1764
parleyvoo1765
coze1818
yarn1819
cosher1833
to pass a good morning1835
small-talk1848
mardle1853
cooze1870
chinwag1879
rap1909
kibitz1923
to shoot the breeze1941
old-talk1956
ole-talk1971
gyaff1976
gist1992
1909 F. H. Tillotson How to be Detective 88 ‘Rap’ means to speak. If you ‘rap’ to a man you speak to him or recognize him.
1929 D. Runyon in Cosmopolitan Oct. 65/2 I wish Moosh a hello, and he never raps to me but only bows, and takes my hat.
1965 E. Cleaver Let. 19 Sept. in Soul on Ice (1968) i. 46 In point of fact he is funny and very glib, and I dig rapping (talking) with him.
1967 Time 7 July 17/1 Hirsute, shoeless hippies huddled in doorways, smoking pot, ‘rapping’ (achieving rapport with random talk), or banging beer cans.
1969 P. Fonda et al. Easy Rider: Orig. Screenplay 81 Sarah, I bet you haven't..had anybody around like me to rap to, have you?
1987 ‘Prince’ Adore (song) in Sign ‘O’ Times (CD lyrics booklet) That night I had 2 call U I was rappin' till the sun came up Tellin' U just how fine U look.
2003 Fangoria Oct. 29/2 Tarantino specifically sought out Fango to promote his bloody, multimillion-dollar epic, preferring to rap with the genre crowd rather than some highbrow critics.
d. intransitive. Originally U.S. To perform rap music, esp. as a vocalist; to speak rap lyrics or speak rhythmically in the style of rap. Cf. rap n.2 8c.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > perform music [verb (intransitive)] > specific style or technique
descanta1450
to stay on1579
to run division1590
divide1609
shake1611
flourish1766
tweedle-dee1837
slide1864
Wagnerize1866
to break a chord1879
magadize1904
scoop1927
segue1958
rap1979
rhyme1979
scratch1982
1979 Billboard 5 May 54/5 He [sc. DJ Starski] generally works with Cool DJ AJ, who does not rap but is a master of B-beats.
1979 S. Robinson et al. Rapper's Delight (song, perf. ‘Sugarhill Gang’) in L. A. Stanley Rap: the Lyrics (1992) 321 I'm rappin' to the rhythm of a groovy beat.
1983 N.Y. Times 14 Aug. xxii. 2/6 He raps under the name of Mr. T.
1987 Daily Tel. 6 Aug. 10/7 He raps in Cockney or Caribbean English.
2002 ‘DMX’ E.A.R.L. 76 One night [he] asked me to do a beat for him while he rapped.
e. transitive. Originally U.S. To speak (rap lyrics).
ΚΠ
1983 Philadelphia Inquirer 9 Oct. g1 Rap consists of spare, catchy bass-guitar lines, over which lyrics—which are really rhyming couples—are not sung, but ‘rapped’ or recited rapidly.
1996 Music Connection 16 Sept. 38/4 The vocals are rapped with so much intensity, you may forget to breathe.
2000 R. J. Evans Entertainment xi. 161 ‘Key Stage Three, GCSE, gotta get a good degree. My after-school activity makes my parents proud of me,’ he rapped.
9.
a. transitive. colloquial (originally U.S.). To disparage; to reprimand or criticize. Cf. to rap (a person) on the knuckles (also fingers) at Phrases.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > criticize [verb (transitive)]
reprehendc1400
murmur1424
discommenda1500
belack1531
to find fault (with, at)c1540
scan?c1550
fault1563
pinch1567
to lift or move a lip1579
raign1581
reflect1605
criminate1645
criticize1652
nick1668
critic1697
chop1712
stricture1851
to get on to ——1895
chip1898
rap1899
nitpick1956
1899 G. Ade Fables in Slang 63 The Parishoners did not seem inclined to seek him out after Services and tell him he was a Pansy. He suspected that they were Rapping him on the Quiet.
1906 N.Y. Evening Post 23 Nov. 5 Football was sharply rapped and rowing was highly praised by President Eliot in his address.
1926 J. Kerney Political Educ. Woodrow Wilson 105 In screamer headlines the conference was rapped as a secret and reprehensible thing.
1967 Boston Globe 20 May 2/2 (heading) Teachers rapped for failure to understand their pupils.
1992 Sun 16 Sept. 11/1 A judge has been rapped for kissing and cuddling a woman court usher in his chambers.
b. transitive. slang (originally Criminals' slang). To charge, prosecute; to apprehend with intent to prosecute (cf. rap n.2 5b).
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > charge, accuse, or indict [verb (transitive)]
wrayc725
forwrayOE
beclepec1030
challenge?c1225
indict1303
appeachc1315
aditea1325
appeal1366
impeachc1380
reprovea1382
arraigna1400
calla1400
raign?a1425
to put upa1438
present?a1439
ditec1440
detectc1449
articlec1450
billc1450
peach1465
attach1480
denounce1485
aret1487
accusea1500
filea1500
delate1515
crimea1550
panel1560
articulate1563
prosecute1579
impleada1600
to have up1605
reprosecute1622
tainta1625
criminatea1646
affect1726
to pull up1799
rap1904
run1909
1904 ‘No. 1500’ Life in Sing Sing 252/1 Rap,..to prosecute.
1960 ‘M. Cronin’ Begin with Gun viii. 93 If I [sc. a policeman] hear that Kehely has been getting in our way..I'll have to rap him.
1976 G. Ryga Night Desk ix. 111 He was..rapped with a morals conviction. Into the slammer with him.
1998 Mirror (Nexis) 12 Oct. 9 Hartson will be rapped with a misconduct charge.
Phrases
to rap (a person) on the knuckles (also fingers) and variants: to punish with a rap on the fingers, knuckles, etc. Frequently figurative: to reprimand, to criticize.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > [verb (transitive)]
threac897
tighta1000
beswinkc1175
punisha1325
chastise1362
paina1375
justifya1393
wage1412
reformc1450
chasten1526
thwart over thumba1529
chastifyc1540
amerce?1577
follow1579
to rap (a person) on the knuckles (also fingers)1584
finea1616
mulcta1620
fita1625
vindicate1632
trounce1657
reward1714
tawse1790
sort1815
to let (a person) have it1823
visit1836
to catch or get Jesse1839
to give, get goss1840
to have ita1848
to take (a person) to the woodshed1882
to give (one) snuff1890
soak1892
give1906
to weigh off1925
to tear down1938
zap1961
slap1968
society > authority > punishment > [verb (transitive)] > summarily or smartly
to rap (a person) on the knuckles (also fingers)1584
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > rebuke or reprove [verb (intransitive)]
reprovec1330
sniba1400
reprehend?a1439
expostulate1574
to rap (a person) on the knuckles (also fingers)1584
give it1594
reprimand1681
to pin a person's ears back1861
yell1886
to jump down a person's throat1916
to chew (a person's) ass1946
to slap (a person) down1960
1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft xiii. xxiii. 324 How to rap a wag vpon the knuckles.
1634 Hocus Pocus Junior sig. F When hee offereth to take it, you may rap him on the fingers with a knife.
1682 J. Flavell Righteous Man's Refuge in Pract. Treat. Fear (new ed.) 257 Every objection with which he will rap thy fingers.
1723 Love-lett. between Late Nobleman & Mr. Wilson 47 His Lordship, who had a Spirit above being surpriz'd with Fear, push'd it by with as much Contempt, as if she had rapt his Knuckles with her Fan.
1759 W. H. Dilworth Life of Pope 78 Some who did not absolutely deserve that appellation, he has rapped over the knuckles.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 129 When the Master of the Ceremonies offered to hand her into the chair, she rapped him over the knuckles with her fan.
1824 T. De Quincey Falsification Hist. Eng. in London Mag. Dec. 631/1 If that bishop were not dead, I would here take the liberty of rapping his knuckles.
1861 Littell's Living Age 7 Sept. 619/2 ‘Presence-of-mind Jackson’ assuring his own safety by rapping the fingers of his drowning friend.
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xvi. 255 You disappoint him, and you rap him over the knuckles.
1930 E. Waugh Labels iii. 65 He lunged out with a spanner and rapped an old man on the knuckles who was trying to sell us a fly-whisk.
1975 J. Rosenthal Evacuees in Bar Mitzvah Boy & Other Television Plays (1987) 134 (stage direct.) She raps his knuckles.
1993 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 25 Apr. b3 Why not rather point to the source of their frustration and rap the fingers of those arrogant people in our administration?
2006 Daily Mail 4 Jan. 62/1 Barely a day passes without some part of the financial services industry..being rapped across the knuckles for failing consumers.
Derivatives
rapped adj.
ΚΠ
1857 Doré 274 It recalled the ghosts of Latin, Greek, Spanish, and Italian dictionaries and grammars, rapped knuckles and dry bread-and-water dinners.
1997 M. Collin & J. Godfrey Altered State i. 14 [They] reworked Trans Europe Express , adding rapped lyrics and sparking a whole new genre, electronics-based rap: electro.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
rapv.3
/rap/, U.S. /ræp/α. late Middle English–1600s rappe, 1500s– rap, 1600s rapp.
β. 1600s (1800s English regional (northern and midlands)) wrap.
Now rare.† 1. transitive. To seize or snatch for oneself; to take or get by snatching or stealing. Obsolete.† 2. intransitive. To snatch at. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > seizing > seize [verb (transitive)]
gripea900
afangOE
to lay hands (or hand) on or upon (also in, to)OE
repeOE
atfonga1000
keepc1000
fang1016
kip1297
seize1338
to seize on or upon1399
to grip toc1400
rapc1415
to rap and rendc1415
comprise1423
forsetc1430
grip1488
to put (one's) hand(s) on (also in, to, unto, upon)1495
compass1509
to catch hold1520
hap1528
to lay hold (up)on, of1535
seisin?c1550
cly1567
scratch1582
attach1590
asseizea1593
grasp1642
to grasp at1677
collar1728
smuss1736
get1763
pin1768
grabble1796
bag1818
puckerow1843
nobble1877
jump1882
snaffle1902
snag1962
pull1967
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > steal [verb (transitive)]
pick?c1300
takec1300
fetch1377
bribec1405
usurpc1412
rapc1415
to rap and rendc1415
embezzle1495
lifta1529
pilfer1532
suffurate1542
convey?1545
mill1567
prig1567
strike1567
lag1573
shave1585
knave1601
twitch1607
cly1610
asport1621
pinch1632
snapa1639
nap1665
panyar1681
to carry off1684
to pick up1687
thievea1695
to gipsy away1696
bone1699
make1699
win1699
magg1762
snatch1766
to make off with1768
snavel1795
feck1809
shake1811
nail1819
geach1821
pull1821
to run off1821
smug1825
nick1826
abduct1831
swag1846
nobble1855
reef1859
snig1862
find1865
to pull off1865
cop1879
jump1879
slock1888
swipe1889
snag1895
rip1904
snitch1904
pole1906
glom1907
boost1912
hot-stuff1914
score1914
clifty1918
to knock off1919
snoop1924
heist1930
hoist1931
rabbit1943
to rip off1967
to have off1974
c1415 (c1395) G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale (Corpus Oxf.) (1875) G. §3 l. 1422 Ȝe schulle..wasten al þat ȝe may rappe and renne.
c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica v. 375 Strongly enarmed with this myghty lycour in-stede of hawberkis, harneysed in drowsy dronkenes, they russhed out all attones in theyr furyous rage..ryfelyng alle that they myght rappe and rynde.
1564 E. Grindal Serm. Funeral Prince Ferdinandus B j I knew a Priest, who had rapped together foure, or fiue benefices.
1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 402 Thinges which are founde must be restored. Which thing if thou doe not, thou hast rapt them.
1681 T. Rymer Gen. Draught Governm. Europe 2 Their work was by hook and crook, to rap and bring all under the Emperours power.
a1754 H. Fielding Jrnl. Voy. Lisbon (1755) 144 Every man spunges and raps whatever he can get.
1765 J. Elphinston Princ. Eng. Lang. Digested I. 204/2 Rap, snatch.
1895 ‘G. Mortimer’ Like Stars that Fall IX. 115 Owes a washing-bill of one-and-six. Had to rap the firm's cash-box to have a night out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > hold or grip [verb (intransitive)] > lay hold > seek to
gripe971
catchc1230
rap1669
nab1794
claw1852
1669 W. Simpson Hydrologia Chymica 209 Through a confident ignorance, he rapps at the prediction, and at a venture.
Phrases
transitive and intransitive. In alliterative phrases, esp. to rap and rend (also to rap and rear, to rap and run, to rap and wring, etc.): to get by any means. Common in the 16th–17th centuries; now archaic or regional. Cf. rape v.2 1a, 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > seizing > seize [verb (transitive)]
gripea900
afangOE
to lay hands (or hand) on or upon (also in, to)OE
repeOE
atfonga1000
keepc1000
fang1016
kip1297
seize1338
to seize on or upon1399
to grip toc1400
rapc1415
to rap and rendc1415
comprise1423
forsetc1430
grip1488
to put (one's) hand(s) on (also in, to, unto, upon)1495
compass1509
to catch hold1520
hap1528
to lay hold (up)on, of1535
seisin?c1550
cly1567
scratch1582
attach1590
asseizea1593
grasp1642
to grasp at1677
collar1728
smuss1736
get1763
pin1768
grabble1796
bag1818
puckerow1843
nobble1877
jump1882
snaffle1902
snag1962
pull1967
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > steal [verb (transitive)]
pick?c1300
takec1300
fetch1377
bribec1405
usurpc1412
rapc1415
to rap and rendc1415
embezzle1495
lifta1529
pilfer1532
suffurate1542
convey?1545
mill1567
prig1567
strike1567
lag1573
shave1585
knave1601
twitch1607
cly1610
asport1621
pinch1632
snapa1639
nap1665
panyar1681
to carry off1684
to pick up1687
thievea1695
to gipsy away1696
bone1699
make1699
win1699
magg1762
snatch1766
to make off with1768
snavel1795
feck1809
shake1811
nail1819
geach1821
pull1821
to run off1821
smug1825
nick1826
abduct1831
swag1846
nobble1855
reef1859
snig1862
find1865
to pull off1865
cop1879
jump1879
slock1888
swipe1889
snag1895
rip1904
snitch1904
pole1906
glom1907
boost1912
hot-stuff1914
score1914
clifty1918
to knock off1919
snoop1924
heist1930
hoist1931
rabbit1943
to rip off1967
to have off1974
c1415 [see sense 1]. c1487 [see sense 1].
1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe sig. e vi Acustumed to rappe and rende All that commeth in their fingrynge.
1570 J. Foxe tr. Pope Adrian VI Epist. in Actes & Monuments (rev. ed.) II. 983/2 Thinke you..they will not plucke from you what soeuer They can rappe or reue?
1615 J. Day Festivals 295 Al they can wrap and rend is little enough for Wife and Children.
1622 H. Peacham Compl. Gentleman xvi. 206 Whatsoeuer he could wrap or wring.
1678 A. Marvell Acct. Growth Popery (new ed.) 23 Contributing all that we could rap and rend of Men, or Amunition.
1712 J. Arbuthnot Lewis Baboon iv. ii. 11 An Eating-house, where the whole Tribe of them spend all they can rap or run.
1741 S. Cobb in G. Ogle Canterbury Tales I. 202 All Dainties he could rap and rend, he got, And sent her Tarts and Custards piping hot.
1772 T. Nugent tr. P. J. Grosley Tour to London I. 193 Their husbands robb'd, and made hard shifts T'administer unto their gifts All they could rap, and rend, and pilfer.
1801 C. B. Brown Jane Talbot iii. 20 Some how or another the wants of Francis had increased very much of late years, and swallowed up all that he could rap and rend without encroaching on his principal.
1842 R. H. Barham Lay St. Aloys in Ingoldsby Legends 2nd Ser. 238 From foe and from friend He'd ‘rap and he'd rend’.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 408 He wraps and wrings all he can.
1872 R. Browning Fifine Epil. iv Let them..Make and mend, or rap and rend, for me!
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Rap and rear, to gather together by any means.
1905 in Eng. Dial. Dict. V. 39/1 He'd tak owt 'at he could rap-an'-rain.
1997 B. Share Slanguage Rap or Run... Obtain by fair or unfair means;..scrape together.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† rapv.4
Obsolete (chiefly poetic).
1. To affect with rapture, ravish; to transport to or into a state of bliss, joy, etc.
a. transitive. In past participle and past tense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > rapture or ecstasy > transport with rapture or ecstasy [verb (transitive)]
ravishc1390
rap1509
extol1526
exalta1533
reave1556
rape1566
rapt?1577
enravish1596
trance1597
to carry out1599
ecstasy1631
translate1631
elevate1634
rapture1636
ecstatize1654
enrapture1740
ecstasiate1823
ecstasize1835
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xvi. 60 The mynde inwarde Venus had rapte and taken feruently.
1561 T. Norton & T. Sackville Gorboduc iv. ii. 239 His noble limmes in such proportion cast As would have wrapt a sillie womans thought.
1607 B. Jonson Volpone Ep. Ded. sig. ¶3v This it is that hath..rap't mee to present indignation. View more context for this quotation
1631 P. Fletcher Sicelides ii. viii. sig. E First ah first the holy Muse Rap't my soules most happy eyes.
1651 R. Waring in W. Cartwright Comedies sig. *6v He rapt us too: 'twas Heaven but to heare.
1673 J. Dryden Assignation iii. i. 30 Pray what was that glorious atchievement which rapt you into such an extasy?
1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xix. 43 The Prince..rap'd with ecstacy the Sire address'd.
1797 A. Radcliffe Italian I. xi. 322 A pleasing melancholy, that rapt all her attention.
1821 P. B. Shelley Adonais xxiii. 14 Sorrow and fear So struck, so roused, so rapt Urania.
b. transitive. In present tense. Also intransitive.
ΚΠ
1584 G. Peele Araygnem. Paris ii. ii. sig. Cv The least of these delights, that you deuyse, Able to wrape and dazle humaine eyes.
1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor i. iii. sig. Diiv Is't a Prognostication rap's him so? View more context for this quotation
1685 R. Baxter Paraphr. New Test. Matt. xvii. 4 A glympse of glory is enough to rap a Soul into extasie.
1745 E. Young Consolation 40 God..Seizes Man: Seizes, and elevates, and raps.
1791 R. Sadler Wanley Penson ii. 159 Whether reason..insinuated that the same feelings which a tender occasion could rap to an ecstasy, were equally sensible of an adverse occurence..I cannot positively decide.
2. To take up and carry off, to transport (into or to a place, esp. heaven); to remove. Frequently figurative.
a. transitive. In past participle and past tense.
ΚΠ
1578 T. Proctor Gorgious Gallery sig. Hiiij Hectors sister loe: who Pirhus Father rapte.
1594 2nd Rep. Dr. Faustus xviii. sig. G4v He..rapte him vp by his long haire out of the water vnto the land.
1621 Bp. H. King Serm. 54 Else some whirle-wind rapt him, and bare him to the house.
1655 H. L'Estrange Reign King Charles 90 He was rapp'd and hurried into another world by an abrupt and untimely death.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 40 What accident Hath rapt him from us? View more context for this quotation
1679 C. Ness Protestant Antidote Popery 193 The Apostle..[was] wrap'd up to the third heaven.
1730 J. Dennis tr. T. Burnet Treat. conc. State Departed Souls x. 332 We ought, with St. Paul, to be rapp'd into the third Heaven.
?1750 in A. Pennecuik Compl. Coll. Poems i. 61 Down rapt a Candlestick and Pewter Plate, And poor Monoculus was all Defeat.
1876 A. C. Swinburne Erechtheus 617 As the wild God rapt her from earth's breast lifted.
b. transitive. In present tense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > transference > [verb (transitive)] > convey or transport > off or away
atbearOE
reavec1175
heavea1240
ravishc1330
reachc1330
outbeara1400
trussa1400
remove1459
withberec1500
rapt1571
rear1596
rap1599
to carry off1684
the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [verb (transitive)] > convey to or place in
ravishc1330
to take upc1384
reavea1400
rap1599
ensphere1615
1599 Warning for Faire Women i. 41 To rack a thought,..Until I rap the senses from their course.
1606 No-body & Some-body sig. E3v Your kinglie presence wraps my soule to heauen.
1613 T. Heywood Siluer Age ii. sig. D4v With my sudden greeting, Il'e rap her soule to heauen.
1641 J. Symonds Serm. Westminster sig. C The command must needs come with much evidence when it wrappeth the will into such an height.
1758 J. Huckell Avon i. 8 See kindling Passions, rap the Soul away.
1771 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) V. 351 God is pleased..sometimes to rap them up, as it were, into the third heavens.
a1852 S. Morton in H. Tennyson Alfred Ld. Tennyson: Mem. (1897) II. 119 The burning impressions..which rap the poet into the lyrical heaven.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
rapv.5
/rap/, U.S. /ræp/ slang and English regional. Now rare.
transitive and intransitive. To exchange, barter, swap.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > barter > [verb (intransitive)]
chopc1485
to chop and changec1485
barterc1503
truck1588
scorse1589
rap1699
swap1778
dicker1797
handel1850
society > trade and finance > barter > [verb (transitive)]
interchangec1374
changea1382
barterc1440
corsec1440
rore1440
truckc1440
coss14..
scorse1509
chafferc1535
to chop and change1549
chop1554
cope1570
excourse1593
swap1594
coupc1610
exchange1614
to trade off1676
rap1699
dicker1864
horse-trade1924
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Rap, to Swop or Exchange a Horse or Goods.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue To rap, means also to exchange or barter.
a1796 S. Pegge Two Coll. Derbicisms (1896) 118 Rap, to swap, with which it is often joined; to exchange.
1799 Johnson's Dict. Eng. Lang. (ed. 11) II. (at cited word) Rap, to exchange; to truck.
1882 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. (at cited word) Rap, Ben Jones wanted to rap his owd mar' fur Preece's pony.
1886 W. Barnes Gloss. Dorset Dial. 91 Rap, to barter; to exchange articles. ‘I've a-rapped away the hoss.’
1896 G. F. Northall Warwickshire Word-bk. 189 I'll rap my knife with (for) yōrn.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> as lemmas
RAP
RAP n. Military Regimental Aid Post.
ΚΠ
1931 Times 10 Aug. 15/1 A wounded man is first-aided at his ‘R.A.P.’ (regimental aid post).
1948 E. H. Smith Guns against Tanks 29 The 26th Battalion's Medical Officer..earned the admiration of the gunners by bringing his RAP truck to within fifty yards of the forward positions.
2001 Courier Mail (Queensland) (Nexis) 17 Apr. h4 Dr Duffy had just left the RAP for a quick visit to the battle area.
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