Where does “taper” come from?
Taper derives from English tape, which comes from Chinese 兒, Latin papyrus, Latin -are, Latin -arius, Ancient Greek πάπυρος, and Proto-Indo-European deh₂-.
taper (English): A slender wax candle; a small lighted wax candle;...
Definitions
- A slender wax candle; a small lighted wax candle;...
Ancestry of “taper”, step by step
taper traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English taper
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | taper | taper thin candle |
| 2 | Old English | tapor | taper |
| 3 | Latin | papȳrus | papyrus plant |
| 4 | French | -ine | feminine singular of -in; female equivalent of... |
| 5 | French | -é | past participle root verb suffix of regular -er... |
| 6 | Middle French | -é | past participle root verb suffix of regular; -ed, -en, -n |
| 7 | Old French | -é | used to form past participles of regular -er... |
| 8 | Latin | -a | suffixed to the roots of verbs, forms agent... |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -ā | Forms masculine agent nouns from prefixed or compounded bases |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -éh₂ | — |
via English tape
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tape | Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface... |
| 2 | Middle English | tape | Alternative form of tappe; band, ribbon, tape |
| 3 | Old English | tæppa | tap, spigot; band, ribbon, tape |
| 4 | Frankish | tappō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | tappô | plug; tap |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂p- | to sacrifice; to lose |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂- | to share, divide |