tapern.1
/ˈteɪpə/, U.S. /ˈteɪpər/ a. Originally, A wax candle, in early times used chiefly for devotional or penitential purposes; now spec. a long wick coated with wax for temporary use as a spill, etc. to hold a taper to the devil: cf. candle n. Phrases 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > consumables > candle or light > [noun]
taperc897
ciergec1300
candlea1400
trindle1537
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > [noun]
candlea700
taperc897
ruff1440
taper-light1577
planet1843
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > [noun] > taper
broach1377
gaudy1531
eche1551
taper1653
c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xxxvi. 258 He hiene onælð mid ðæm tapore [Hatton MS. tapure] ðæs godcundan liegges.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 202 Wex oððe taperas, gesihð blisse hit getacnat.
a1100 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 267/12 Lampas, leohtfæt. Candela, candel. Papirus, taper.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 47 On ure honde beren candele berninde, taper oðer candele.
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 19/12 Seint Dunstones moder taper a fuyre werth a-non.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xvii. 203 To a torche or a tapre þe trinitee is lykned.
c1460 Brut 508 She was enioyned to open penaunce, forto go thrugh Chepe, bering a tapere in hir hand.
1513 Will of Robert Fabyan in R. Fabyan New Chrons. Eng. & France (1811) Pref. p. iv That they doo purvay for. iiii. tapers of. iii lb. evry pece, to brenne aboute the corps and herse for the forsaid. ii. seasons.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 279/1 Tapar of waxe, cierge.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iv. ii. 326 How ill this Taper burnes. View more context for this quotation
1635 A. Stafford Femall Glory 153 Very many Tapours were burning in the Church.
1653 T. Gataker Vindic. Annot. Jer. 10.2 36 To stoop so low, as to bear a taper before the Divel.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Taper, a long and large siz'd Light made in form of a Pyramid made of Wax, and made use of in Churches for the most part.
1743 E. Young Complaint: Night the Fifth 43 Our Birth is nothing but our Death begun; As Tapers wast, that Instant they take Fire.
1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey II. 115 The number of tapers, which,..on festivals, were lighted in all parts of it [a church].
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 79 A glowing taper bursts into flame when plunged into oxygen.
b. figurative. Something that gives light or is figured as burning; in modern use esp. a thing that gives a feeble light.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > torch > [noun] > small
taperOE
torchet1470
matchc1595
OE Phoenix 114 Þonan yþast mæg on eastwegum sið bi healdan, hwonne swegles tapur ofer holmþræce hædre blice, leohtes leoma.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 267 Tapers they are with your sweete breaths puft out. View more context for this quotation
1635 A. Stafford Femall Glory 8 The Apostles, those holy Tapours of the primitive Church.
1646 J. Hall Horæ Vacivæ 8 The Tapour of Devotion burnes but dimly.
1646 W. Jenkyn Reformation's Remora 22 God may suffer the taper of the opportunity to burn out.
1699 J. Pomfret Poems (ed. 11) 44 The twinkling Tapers of the Night.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 87 To husband out life's taper at the close.
1808 F. Skurray Bidcombe Hill 23 Whilst from the sky, the new-born moon display'd Her feeble taper, twinkling thro' the gloom.
1821 P. B. Shelley Adonais v. 8 And happier they..Whose tapers yet burn through that night of time In which suns perished.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
taper-candlestick n.
ΚΠ
1847 H. Gough Gloss. Terms Brit. Heraldry 70 The taper-candlestick, which is borne in the arms of the Founders' Company, has a spike, or..a pricket, upon which the taper is placed.
taper-flame n.
ΚΠ
1818 J. Keats Endymion iii. 111 Like taper-flame..He rose in silence.
taper-fly n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > member of (moth)
farfalla1606
taper-fly?1614
candle-fly1626
moth1646
phalaena1658
pilser1736
redneck1773
bustard1803
soul1815
notch-wing1819
satellite1832
bobowler1852
?1614 W. Drummond Song: It Autumne was in Poems Like the Taper-flie there burne thy Wings.
taper-light n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > [noun] > candlelight
candlelighta1000
taper-light1577
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > [noun]
candlea700
taperc897
ruff1440
taper-light1577
planet1843
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. ii. i. sig. G.iiij/2 Let..no man set pearchers or taper light before the Gods.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. ii. 14 With Taper-light To seeke the beauteous eye of heauen to garnish, Is wastefull, and ridiculous excesse. View more context for this quotation
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles iii. vii. 91 A taper-light gleams on the floor.
1913 W. de la Mare Peacock Pie 119 Lantern-light, taper-light, Torchlight.
taper-spark n.
ΚΠ
1877 W. Allingham Pilot Boat in Songs ii A cottage by the strand With its feeble taper-spark.
taper-stand n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > [noun] > taper > support or holder for
taper-stick1546
taper-stand1837
taper-holder1907
1837 J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Scott (1839) I. vi. 253 His first fee..was expended on a silver taper-stand for his mother.
taper-stick n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > [noun] > taper > support or holder for
taper-stick1546
taper-stand1837
taper-holder1907
1546 in R. O'Flaherty Chorogr. Descr. W. Connaught (1846) 230 Two candell or tapire styckes of Shylver.
1956 G. Taylor Silver v. 114 Taper Sticks. Examples do not occur in silver until the later part of the period, and are generally miniature candlesticks.
1982 Nat. Art-Coll. Fund Ann. Rep. 1981 39/1 Taper-sticks were made to hold tapers for lighting candles or pipes, and generally have flat circular bases and narrow sockets.
b.
taper-holder n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > [noun] > taper > support or holder for
taper-stick1546
taper-stand1837
taper-holder1907
1907 Daily Chron. 11 Apr. 3/7 A little pierced taper-holder, with gadrooned edge, dated 1764.
taper-bearer n.
ΚΠ
?c1450 in G. J. Aungier Hist. & Antiq. Syon Monastery (1840) 342 They schal reuerently holde them styl in ther handes, ȝe also the taperebererars as moche as they may,..in to tyme they haue offred hem at autyr to the preste.
taper-maker n.
ΚΠ
1396–7 Abingdon Acc. (Camden) 66 Johannes Tapermaker ‘pro Rectore de Appleton’.
c.
taper-lighted adj.
ΚΠ
1850 W. Allingham Poems 14 Our fire and taper-lighted room.
C2. † ˈtaperwort n. Obsolete the Great Torch Mullein ( Verbascum thapsus).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Scrophulariaceae (figwort and allies) > [noun] > mullein
feltwortc1000
verbascumOE
Thapsusa1400
mullein?a1425
hag taper1526
high-taper1526
tapsebarbe1526
lungwort1538
torch1552
moth mullein1578
wolleyn1578
woollen1578
hedge-taper1579
wool-blade1585
bullock's lungwort1597
candlewick mullein1597
mullet1597
torch-herb1598
taperwort1601
torchwort1647
Jupiter's staff1664
cow's lungwort1777
shepherd's club1790
woollens1800
flannel-leaf1821
Adam's flannel1828
flannel-plant1849
king's taper1858
torch-blade1861
velvet-dock1863
Jacob's staff1879
shepherd's staff1882
wool-plant1883
shepherd's gourd1896
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 118 The whole top with his pleasant yellow floures sheweth like to a waxe candell or taper cunningly wrought.]
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 274 The great Mullen or Taperwort.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tapern.2
/ˈteɪpə/, U.S. /ˈteɪpər/ I. Something that tapers to a point.
1. A spire or slender pyramid; a figure which tapers up to a point.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [noun] > pointed object or part > at the top
pinnaclec1400
taper1589
peak1785
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xi. 78 Of the Spire or Taper called Pyramis. The Taper is the longest and sharpest triangle that is, & while he mounts vpward he waxeth continually more slender, taking both his figure and name of the fire, whose flame..is alwaies pointed.
II. Senses related to gradual diminution in size towards a point.
2. Gradual diminution in width or thickness in an elongated object; continuous decrease in one direction; spec. in Forestry (see quot. 1957); figurative gradual decrease of action, power, capacity, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > [noun]
tapering1610
taperness1736
taper1793
snape1794
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > tree-crop > measurements of standing timber
stumpage1854
scale1877
increment1889
taper1893
basal area1895
form factor1895
cruise1911
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §81 From thence its taper diminishing more slow, its sides by degrees come into a perpendicular.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §303 Iron plugs..upon a very gentle taper.
1840 J. Buel Farmer's Compan. (ed. 2) 145 They should be square, with a gradual taper to the point.
1875 R. F. Martin tr. J. Havrez On Recent Improvem. Winding Machinery 22 To try and manufacture steel ropes with a continuous taper.
1893 P. J. Carter Treat. Mensuration Timber i. 5 Long logs should be measured in two or more sections..the sections increasing..with the taper of each log.
1945 G. B. Grundy 55 Years at Oxf. vii. 132 A scale of taper which means the number of inches a tree decreases in girth between its base..and a point in its circumference ten or twenty feet above that.
1957 Brit. Commonw. Forest Terminol.: Pt. II (Empire Forestry Assoc.) ii. 194 Taper, the decrease in diameter of a tree bole or log from the base upwards.
3. Anything that gradually diminishes in size towards one extremity, as a tapered tube.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > [noun] > tapered object
tapering1610
taper1882
1882 Worcs. Exhib. Catal. iii. 16 Sanitary tubes, bends, junctions, tapers, sluice valves.
Compounds
Taper-Lock n.
taper-lock n. Mechanics a proprietary name in the U.S. for a type of tapered bush (bush n.3 2) inserted into a pulley, sprocket, etc., to enable it to be mounted rigidly on a shaft.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > shaft > [noun] > parts of > other parts
spring collet1845
post boxa1884
tumbling crank1886
sheave1887
vibration damper1932
taper-lock1954
1954 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 4 May 31/1 Dodge Manufacturing Corporation, Mishawaka... Taper-Lock... For machine elements to be mounted on shafts and bushings therefor.
1971 Engineering Apr. 4/2 Pulleys..complete with Taper-Lock bushes for fast, easy fixing.
1971 Power Farming Mar. 75/2 The new pulley illustrated incorporates the quick-fit taper-lock centre.
taper tap n. Mechanics a tap (tap n.1 4) tapered lengthways for about two thirds of its length, used to begin the process of cutting a screw thread in a hole.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > other specific machine tools > [noun] > machine for cutting screw-threads > taps
screw tap1678
tap1678
plug tap1815
tap-tool1874
bottoming tap1875
taper tapa1877
second tap1888
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. III. 2495/1 The process of screw-cutting was greatly improved by Maudslay, who introduced the practice of having three cutting edges, and using three taps, the entering taper tap, the middle tap, and the plug tap.
1964 S. Crawford Basic Engin. Processes i. 24 The taper tap has a chamfer or tapered lead for a length of 8–10 threads.
taper-vice n. a vice adapted to hold objects which have not parallel sides.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > clamp > vice > types of
wresting-vice1609
hand vice1611
bench screw1678
bench vice1688
screw dog1855
pin vice1868
taper-vice1877
staple-vice1881
vice grip1915
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 2495 Taper-vise.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tapern.3
/ˈteɪpə/, U.S. /ˈteɪpər/ Cotton-weaving.
a. (See quot. 1891.) Also tape-sizer n. at tape n.1 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > weaving > other people involved with weaving
pattern-maker1787
reader1839
pattern reader1858
tackler1864
healder?1881
loomer1881
setter-up?1881
taper?1881
tuner1885
tape-sizer1891
intaker1921
?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 68 Looming and Taping Room [in Cotton Manufacture]:..Taper. Beam Flanger. Beamer.
1891 Labour Commission Gloss. Tapers, those in the cotton mills who take a number of ‘beams’ or bobbins as they come from the warper,..and run them through the ‘size’ upon another beam (called the weaver's beam). When this process is complete the produce is called a ‘warp’.
1904 Dundee Advertiser 5 July 10 The late Mr. Eli Higham, originally a taper at a cotton mill at Sabden.
b. One who tapes or deals with tape in other occupations.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > worker performing process or spec. task > [noun] > who fastens things together
tacker1727
piecer1792
jointer1876
taper1921
zygologist1970
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §304 Coil taper,..binds coils with tape.
1927 Daily Express 2 Dec. 2/4 Taper,..[an] operator in charge of the insulation of armature.
Draft additions 1993
c. One who records material on audio- or videotape, esp. illegally.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > [noun] > one who records material, esp. illegally
taper1980
1980 Washington Post 15 June g2/1 A study by the federal government's Copyright Royalty Tribunal reported that..the 10–17 and 18–29 age brackets each represent about a third of home tapers.
1980 Economist 13 Dec. 62/2 About 10,000 British tapers were, until this year, acting legally. They had paid £1.50..a year for a home recording licence.
1987 New Yorker 6 Apr. 48/3 Griffiths would be..called to testify about his activities as a taper, and the court, if Universal had its way, would find him to be a copyright infringer.
1990 Chicago Tribune 17 June 13 OK, all you home tapers: On your marks, get set, go. The Met's new ‘Der Ring der Nibelungen’, airing this week.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
taperadj.
/ˈteɪpə/, U.S. /ˈteɪpər/ 1. Diminishing gradually in breadth or thickness towards one extremity (originally, upward); becoming continuously narrower or more slender in one direction; tapering.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > [adjective]
taper1496
rush-grown1545
taper-fashion1545
taperinga1625
tapered1669
gradual1739
diminishing1842
1496 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle in Bk. St. Albans (rev. ed.) sig. hjv Thenne shaue your staffe and make hym tapre wexe [c1450 tapur wyys waxing].
a1625 H. Mainwaring Nomenclator Navalis (Harl. 2301) Taper bore, is when a Peece is wider at the Mouth than towards the Breech.
1649 W. Blith Eng. Improver v. 28 Make thy Drain, or Trench, some what Taper (viz.) Narrower, and Narrower downe-wards.
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vi. Explan. Terms 113 All sorts of Stuff or work that are smaller at one end than at the other, and diminish gradually from the biggest end, is said to be Taper.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 318/1 The lower part [of a drawing iron is] Taper, ending in a point.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals vii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 33 Fair Galathea,..Tall as a Poplar, taper as the Bole.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Taper or Tapering,..like a Cone, or Pyramid.
1758 Vacation in R. Dodsley Coll. Poems VI. 151 If Marian chance to shew Her taper leg and stocking blue.
1771 Ann. Reg. 1770 152/1 The body runs taper to the tail.
1821 W. Combe Third Tour Dr. Syntax xxxvi. 178 To the fine, taper fingers' ends.
1889 P. N. Hasluck Model Engineer's Handybk. 88 The piston-head has a taper hole through it, into which the tapered end of piston-rod is forced.
2. figurative. Of resources: Diminishing, becoming more and more ‘slender’. colloquial or slang. †Also of a person: reduced in funds, short (of money).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [adjective] > poor > lacking money
to the boneOE
silverlessc1325
pennilessc1330
moneylessc1400
impecunious1596
crossless1600
penceless1605
unmoneyed1606
coinless1614
emptya1643
out of pocket1679
money-bound1710
broke1716
embarrassed1744
stiver cramped1785
plackless1786
taper1789
poundlessa1794
shillingless1797
unpennied1804
fundless1809
impecuniary1814
hard up1821
soldier-thighed1825
cashless1833
stiverless1839
fly-blown1853
strapped1857
stick1859
tight1859
stone-broke1886
stony1886
oofless1888
stony-broke1890
motherless1906
penny-pinched1918
skinned1924
skint1925
on the beach1935
potless1936
boracic1959
uptight1967
brassic1982
society > trade and finance > money > funds or pecuniary resources > [adjective] > diminishing (of resources)
taper1851
the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [adjective] > limited in quantity or amount > running out
low1583
waning1632
taper1851
1789 J. Byng in Torrington Diaries (1935) II. 88 So now, being taper of the said necessary commodity [sc. cash], I was obliged to recruit from Mr Oliver.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 224/2 Just in the critical time for us, as things was growing very taper.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 237/1 That sort of thing soon makes money show taper.
Compounds
C1. Chiefly parasynthetic in -ed suffix2, as taper-bored, taper-headed, taper-limbed, taper-moulded, taper-pointed (but in some of these taper may be noun); also with a participle, as taper-grown.
ΚΠ
1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 32 To know whether she be equally bored, camber, taper, or belbored.
a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 165 They are called drakes. They are taper-bored in the chamber.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 13 Bristles or prickles like whin-pricks perfectly taper-grown.
1678 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Taper-board, in Gunnery, is when a piece is wider at the mouth than towards the breetch.
1725 A. Philips To Honourable Miss Carteret 41 Then the taper-moulded waist With a span of ribbon brac'd.
1828 J. E. Smith Eng. Flora (ed. 2) II. 12 Leaves broad, taper-pointed, angular rather than toothed.
c1843 T. Carlyle Hist. Sketches (1898) 270 The taper-limbed Apollo figure.
C2.
taper principle n. (see quot. 1930).
ΚΠ
1930 M. Clark Home Trade 70 Railway rates are on the taper principle. That is to say the rate per ton-mile decreases as the length of the journey increases.
taper roller bearing n. a roller bearing in which the rollers are tapered slightly and lie at an angle to the axis of the bearing, so as to provide resistance to thrust along the axis as well as at right angles to it.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > shaft > [noun] > parts of > support or bearing
headstock1688
brass1731
bearing1734
carriage1788
step1814
bearance1826
footstep1836
cod1839
pivot bearing1851
roller bearing1857
thrust-bearing1858
step-plate1869
thrust-bearer1869
needle bearing1870
journal-bearing1875
wall-bearing1875
plain bearing1893
tumbler-bearing1901
split bearing1902
sleeve bearing1907
thrust-box1918
taper roller bearing1930
1930 Engineering 7 Feb. 169/3 The driving wheels..are mounted on taper-roller bearings.
1971 Power Farming Mar. 50/1 The Benedict Soilmaster takes care of seed bed cultivations—and your tractor... No gears, no cranks and adjustable taper-roller bearings result in minimal maintenance.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
taperv.
/ˈteɪpə/, U.S. /ˈteɪpər/ 1. † b. (?) nonce-use. ? To talk loftily. Obsolete.
a. intransitive. To rise or shoot up like a flame, spire, or pyramid (obsolete); figurative to rise or mount up continuously in honour, dignity, rank, etc. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > become high(er) [verb (intransitive)]
astyc950
arisec1225
rise?a1400
rearc1400
heighten1567
stem1577
upclimb1582
taper1589
clamber?1611
shoot1648
relevate1661
ascend1667
spring1673
spear1822
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xi. 79 Like as this faire figure Of tall comely stature By his kindly nature Endeuors soft and faire To Taper in the ayre.
1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ i. i. 3 Sir George Villiers..tapers up apace, and grows strong at Court.
1698 D. Jones Theatre of Wars 29 The Black Prince having now wun his Spurs, and being taper'd up to his full growth.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 7 Mar. 2/1 Might it interest him..to watch the workings of Synods all over Prussia, tapering up (if I may use the term) by a process of elimination into a General Synod and its standing committee?
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > boasting or boastfulness > boast [verb (intransitive)]
yelpc888
kebc1315
glorify1340
to make avauntc1340
boast1377
brag1377
to shake boastc1380
glorya1382
to make (one's) boastc1385
crackc1470
avaunt1471
glaster1513
voust1513
to make (one's or a) vauntc1515
jet?1521
vaunt?1521
crowa1529
rail1530
devauntc1540
brave1549
vaunt1611
thrasonize1619
vapour1629
ostentate1670
goster1673
flourish1674
rodomontade1681
taper1683
gasconade1717
stump1721
rift1794
mang1819
snigger1823
gab1825
cackle1847
to talk horse1855
skite1857
to blow (also U.S. toot) one's own horn1859
to shoot off one's mouth1864
spreadeagle1866
swank1874
bum1877
to sound off1918
woof1934
to shoot a line1941
to honk off1952
to mouth off1958
blow-
1683 E. Hooker in J. Pordage Theologia Mystica Pref. Epist. 103 How magnificously soever wee bragg and vapor and taper of our Reason, or Faith, Intellect, intelligibl Ideas and æternal Verities.
2.
a. intransitive. To narrow or diminish gradually in breadth or thickness towards one end; to grow smaller by degrees in one direction. Const. away, off, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > taper [verb (intransitive)]
taper1610
snape1794
to thin out (off, away)1804
1610 [implied in: W. Folkingham Feudigraphia i. iii. 6 The boaling, spreading,..and tapering of trees. (at tapering n.2)].
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 27 The Castle,..situated on a little hill of an oval figure, that tapers from the bottom to the top.
1797 S. James Narr. Voy. 164 A beautiful river, which tapers away..into a pleasant rivulet.
1815 M. Elphinstone Acct. Kingdom Caubul i. ii. 95 Peaks of great height and magnitude, which do not taper to a point.
1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 420 The bundles taper off gradually and terminate below the apex of the leaf.
1886 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 32 72 A strip [of land] tapering from the width of twelve inches to a point.
b. figurative. to taper off (away, down): To become gradually less in intensity, etc.; also colloquial to leave off a process or habit by degrees, esp. to diminish gradually the quantity or potency of one's drink.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > decrease in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (intransitive)] > gradually
meltc1225
dwindle1598
to die down1836
to trail off1845
to taper off (away, down)1848
to tail off (out)1854
to tail away1860
fritter1874
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > moderation in drinking > [verb (intransitive)] > reduce amount of drinking
to taper off (away, down)1848
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > reduce gradually
to wane away1601
wear1697
wean1707
whittle1736
to tail off (out)1827
to ease off1884
to taper off (away, down)1898
to run down1960
to wind down1969
1848 J. F. Cooper Oak Openings I. iv. 66 It's hard to give up old habits, all at once. If I could only taper off on a pint a day, [etc.].
1848 D. Webster Let. 18 Sept. in Private Corr. (1857) II. 285 My catarrh has been..severe. I hope it will soon begin to taper off.
1860 W. H. Russell My Diary in India 1858–9 II. xii. 218 We saw him tapering away till he appeared a mere speck, as he went down the mountain-side, and finally disappeared altogether.
1871 G. H. Napheys Prevention & Cure Dis. i. iii. 109 He makes..an unavailing effort to ‘taper off’ [from the use of ardent spirits].
1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 947 If [the murmur] begin with the diastole of the heart and taper off during the pause, it is an easy sign to interpret.
1903 Smart Set 9 12/2 I had been drinking hard for six months, and there was no such thing as clipping it short all at once. I had an idea of tapering off.
1960 Wall St. Jrnl. 18 Nov. 13/1 Carloadings ‘taper down’ starting in mid-November, when the bulk of Christmas shipping has been completed.
1971 Daily Tel. 4 Aug. 2/7 The deal is worth nearly £4-a-week more to the lower grades tapering down to £2 at the top end.
3.
a. transitive. To reduce gradually and regularly in breadth or thickness in one direction; to make tapering.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > taper [verb (transitive)]
taper1675
to thin off, down1793
snape1794
to tail off (out)1827
1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Odysses 106 They smooth'd and taper'd it, as I would have it.
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 315 This Bar..is tapered away.
1802 T. Beddoes Hygëia II. vii. 42 As if the narrow chest had been lengthened or tapered out into neck.
1860 All Year Round 26 May 159 I taper the point of my pencil.
1875 R. F. Martin tr. J. Havrez On Recent Improvem. Winding Machinery 26 A specimen of this sort of rope..was tapered in a length of 25 metres from ·30 metre at one end down to ·18 at the other.
b. figurative. To reduce gradually in quantity; to diminish by degrees: esp. with off, down.
ΚΠ
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 419 The best method..would be to ‘taper off’ the daily amount of drink.
1971 Daily Tel. 2 Aug. 7/8 There is speculation that the Government investment..in tracked hovercraft is to be tapered off.
1977 Lancet 23 Apr. 909/2 Oral prednisolone, 1 mg/kg/day, was resumed and rapidly tapered down to 0·5 mg/kg/day.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1c897n.21589
n.3?1881adj.1496
v.1589- smallscale
- smallset
- smallshop
- smallsignal
- smallsize
- smallsized
- smallspored
- smallspotted genet
- smallstep
- smallstill
- smallstill whisky
- smallsword exercise
- smallsword logic
- smallsword man
- smalltailed
- smalltalk
- smalltalkable
- smalltalker
- smalltalking
- smallthreaded
- smallticket item
- smalltimbered
- smalltimer
- smalltooth
- smalltoothed