[1885–90; ‹ F, equiv. to tapot(er) to tap, drum on, with the fingers or edge of the hand (tap(er) to tap, strike (expressive v. akin to tap1) + -oter freq. or attenuating suffix) + -ment -ment]This word is first recorded in the period 1885–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: classified, reactor, sensitization, twofer, zoom-ment is a suffix of nouns, often concrete, denoting an action or resulting state (abridgment; refreshment), a product (fragment), or means (ornament)