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wiretap

noun

Etymology

Back-formation from wiretapper; or else wire + tap

  1. inherited from *tappōną✻
  2. inherited from tæppian — “to provide (a container) with a stopper; to obtain (liquid) from a tap”
  3. inherited from tappen — “to obtain (liquid, chiefly liquor) from a tap; to obtain and sell (liquor)”
  4. inherited from *deh₂p-✻ — “to lose; to sacrifice”
  5. inherited from *tappô✻ — “a plug, tap; peg; tapering stick”
  6. inherited from *tappō✻
  7. inherited from tæppa
  8. inherited from tappe — “hollow device for controlling the flow of liquid from a hole, cock, faucet, spigot; hole through which the liquid flows; the liquid which thus flows”
  9. compounded as wiretap — “wire + tap”

Definitions

  1. A connection installed on a telephone line or other communications system in order to…

    A connection installed on a telephone line or other communications system in order to allow a third party to conduct covert surveillance of conversations.

  2. To install or to use such a connection.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for wiretap. 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