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taper

noun
/ˈteɪpə/UK/ˈteɪpɚ/US

Etymology

From Middle English taper, from Old English tapor (“taper, candle, wick of a lamp”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Latin papyrus (“papyrus", used in Mediaeval times to mean "wick of a candle”). If so, it is a doublet of papyrus. Alternatively, of Celtic origin related to Irish tapar (“taper”), Welsh tampr (“a taper, torch”); further compare Sanskrit तपती (tápati, “(it) warms, gives out heat, is hot; (it) heats”). More at tepid. First attested before the 12th c.

  1. derived from papyrus
  2. inherited from tapor
  3. inherited from taper

Definitions

  1. A slender wax candle.

    • Strike on the Tinder, hoa: Giue me a Taper […]
    • Take not away the Taper, leaue it burning […]
    • He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.

  2. A small light.

  3. A tapering form

    A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness and/or cross section in an elongated object.

    • the taper of a spire
    • The legs of the table had a slight taper to them.
    • Her hair hangs over her ears and flows to a taper at the back of her neck where it is held in place with a wide and circular black clasp.
  4. ›+ 12 more definitions

    1. The portion of an object with such a form.

      • ensuring the cleanliness of the taper of a machine tool spindle or of a tool shank

    2. Ellipsis of machine taper.

    3. A long wick or thin stick used for transferring flames to candles, now usually…

      A long wick or thin stick used for transferring flames to candles, now usually chemically-treated to burn particularly slowly.

    4. A cone-shaped item for stretching the hole for an ear gauge (piercing).

    5. Gradual reduction over time.

      • a drug taper

    6. To make thinner or narrower at one end.

      • Though true cylinders without — within, the villainous green goggling glasses deceitfully tapered downwards to a cheating bottom.

    7. To become thinner or narrower at one end.

    8. To diminish gradually.

      • Current major clinical practice guidelines provide little support for clinicians wishing to help patients discontinue or taper antidepressants in terms of mitigating and managing withdrawal symptoms.

    9. To tighten monetary policy.

    10. Tapered

      Tapered; narrowing to a point.

    11. One who operates a tape machine.

    12. Someone who works with tape or tapes.

The neighborhood

Derived

critical taper, hag-taper, high taper, Luer taper, machine taper, Morse taper, multitaper, nanotaper, taperbearer, taper candle, taperer, taper fade, taperless, taperlike, tapermaker, taperness, taper pin, taperstick, tapertail, taperwise, time-taper, taper off

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at taper. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01taper02candle03protruding04protrude05stick06wand07rod08tapering

A definitional loop anchored at taper. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at taper

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

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