knap
/næp/ verb, noun
Also a form of nap
Forms knaps knapping knapped knappest knappedst knappeth
- verb To break (something) into small pieces with a cracking sound; to fragment, to smash; also, to break (something) apart sharply; to snap.
- verb (specifically, especially archaeology) To break away flakes from (a brittle material which fractures conchoidally (“with planar concentric curves”), usually a mineral such as chert, flint, or obsidian), often to form a tool with a sharp edge or point.
- verb To strike (something) sharply; to knock, to rap.
- verb Followed by off: to break (something) away from another thing by striking or tapping sharply.
- verb (figurative) To say (something) crisply or sharply.
- verb To break or fracture suddenly; to snap.
- verb To make a cracking or snapping sound; to crack, to snap.
- verb To strike sharply.
- noun A sudden, sharp blow, knock, or slap; a rap, a whack.
- noun The sound made by such a blow, knock, or slap.
- noun (agriculture) Synonym of chattering damsel (“a component of a traditional mill which creates a vibratory motion to impel portions of grain toward the millstone; a clapper”).
- noun (figurative, gambling, chiefly dice games, obsolete) A method of cheating at a dice game.
- noun A piece of raised ground or a short, steep slope; a small hill; a hillock, a knoll.
- noun The crest or top of a hill.
- verb (transitive) To take a small, quick bite at or of (someone or something); to nibble, to nip, to snap.
- verb (intransitive) To take a small, quick bite.
Synonyms
Etymology
The verb is derived from Late Middle English knappen (“to strike (something)”); further etymology uncertain, probably related to Middle Dutch knappen, cnappen (“to break (something) with a sharp sound, snap; to crack or crackle”) (modern Dutch knappen), probably ultimately onomatopoeic.
The noun is derived from Late Middle English knap, knappe (“sharp blow, strike”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from the verb (see above), or related to an ancestor of Danish knep and Swedish knäpp (“a flick, rap, snap”), probably ultimately onomatopoeic.
From Middle English knap, knappe (“small projection, knob (button, tassel, tuft, etc.); hill; hilltop; etc.”), from Old English cnæp, cnæpp (“summit, top”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Old Norse knappr (“small projection, knob (button, head of a stick, etc.)”) (whence English knop), from Proto-Germanic *knappô, *knuppô.
* from Middle English *kneppen (compare Middle English knippette (“pincers for cracking nuts”)), from Old Norse kneppa (“to pinch, press, squeeze; to button, clasp; to hug”), from Proto-Germanic *knappijaną (“to clamp; to squeeze”), from Proto-Indo-European *gnebʰ- (“to constrict, tighten; to press”);
* related to knap (etymology 1); or
* imitative of a mouth snapping shut; compare gnap (“to snap at”) (obsolete except Scotland), nab (“to bite gently, nibble”) (obsolete except Southern and Western England).
See nap (etymology 5).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A protuberance; a swelling; a knob; a button; hence, rising ground; a summit. See Knob, and Knop.
- verb To bite; to bite off; to break short. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. ]
- verb To strike smartly; to rap; to snap. Bacon.
- verb To make a sound of snapping. Wiseman.
Etymology [AS. cnæp, cnæpp, top, knob, button; cf. Icel. knappr knob, Sw. knapp, Dan. knap button, W., Gael., & Ir. cnap knob, button, and E. knop.]
Etymology [D. knappen to chew, bite, crack, take hold of; prob. of imitative origin.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “knap”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details