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Napster

noun

Etymology

Named after Napster, a file-sharing system (not itself a website) that facilitated the copying of copyrighted MP3 audio files, itself named after a nickname of its creator Shawn Fanning, referring to his nappy-textured hair; hence nap + -ster.

  1. inherited from *hnappaz✻ — “a cup, bowl”
  2. inherited from *hnapp✻
  3. inherited from hnæpp — “a cup, bowl”
  4. inherited from nap — “a bowl”
  5. suffixed as napster — “nap + ster”

Definitions

  1. Any website that facilitates free distribution of data.

    • Some in the used-book industry are questioning whether Amazon.com is becoming the Napster of the book business.

  2. To download from Napster.

    • I've got the first four albums on vinyl. Nothing on CD, other than a few "napstered" songs.

  3. To upload to or as if to Napster.

    • Anyway, I noticed recently that somebody had Napstered the song, and I presume that tapes of the single were floating around long before the internet.
  4. ›+ 1 more definition

    1. To shut down, especially for copyright infringement, as Napster was.

      • If you find Youtube^([sic]) as fascinating as I do you may want to step up the searches & viewing since it seems they may be "napstered" in the future.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for Napster. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA