knap
1 of 2noun
ˈnap 
1
chiefly dialectal : a crest of a hill : summit
2
chiefly dialectal : a small hill
knap
2 of 2verb
knapped; knapping
transitive verb
1
: to break with a quick blow
especially : to shape (something, such as flints) by breaking off pieces
2
dialectal British : rap entry 2 sense 1
3
dialectal British : snap, crop
4
dialectal British : chatter
knapper noun
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Jim Baird, Field & Stream, 3 Aug. 2020 There was the first time someone knapped and hafted a rock onto a spear shaft, and the first time someone strung up a bow. Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2020 His hair was unruly and his large, blunt fingers were usually fishing for a cigarette, except when preoccupied with his favourite hobby: knapping prehistoric flint tools. 1843, 20 Feb. 2020 Shaggy Briton woodsmen in the vast pre-Roman forests of Cumbria, gripping their sacred Langdale axes, with glimmering heads knapped from the rare volcanic greenstone mined from the Pike of Stickle. Jonny Diamond, Longreads, 8 June 2019
Verb
Knowing how to make a friction fire, or how to whittle a paddle out of a log, or how to knap stone arrowheads all have their place in a survival situation (particularly fire making). Jim Baird, Field & Stream, 3 Aug. 2020 There was the first time someone knapped and hafted a rock onto a spear shaft, and the first time someone strung up a bow. Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2020 His hair was unruly and his large, blunt fingers were usually fishing for a cigarette, except when preoccupied with his favourite hobby: knapping prehistoric flint tools. 1843, 20 Feb. 2020 Shaggy Briton woodsmen in the vast pre-Roman forests of Cumbria, gripping their sacred Langdale axes, with glimmering heads knapped from the rare volcanic greenstone mined from the Pike of Stickle. Jonny Diamond, Longreads, 8 June 2019 Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English cnæp; akin to Old English cnotta knot
Verb
Middle English knappen, of imitative origin
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
knapping
verb
as in carving
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- carving
- sculpting
- chiseling
- sculpturing
- graving
- hewing
- cutting
- chiselling
- stamping
- modeling
- molding
- coining
- fashioning
- working
- abating
- boasting
- kneading
- minting
- planishing
- forming
- patting
- modelling
- forging
- hammering
- chasing
- drawing
- pounding
- beating