| 释义 |
taper
I. ta·per \ˈtāpə(r)\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English taper, tapre, from Old English taper, tapor
1.
a. : a usually slender wax candle
b. : a long waxed wick used especially as a spill
c. : any feeble light or source of light
2.
a. : a tapering form or figure (as a spire)
b. : gradual diminution of thickness, diameter, or width in an elongated object often expressed in inches per foot, inches per inch, or by numbers
< the taper of a tree trunk >
< glass tubing with extremely accurate bore or taper — C.J.Phillips >
< the taper of a file >
c. : a gradual decrease
3. : a trowel used by molders in founding
4. : draft 17a,b
5. : a taper wire used especially to splice electric cables
II. taper adjective
Etymology: Middle English tapre, from taper, tapre, n.
1. : regularly narrowed toward a point : conical, pyramidal
< taper fingers >
— see leg illustration
2. : graduated, scaled
< taper freight rates >
III. taper verb
(tapered ; tapered ; tapering \-p(ə)riŋ\ ; tapers)
Etymology: taper (I)
intransitive verb
1. : to become gradually smaller toward one end
< a stick that tapers to a point >
< a wall tapering from a thickness of three feet at the bottom to two feet at the top >
2. : to grow gradually less : diminish
< as … defense demands tapered, prices started down — Time >
< sparse subarctic forest which tapers northward to the treeless tundra — Jim Wright >
— often used with down
< the way that a news story is written — beginning with the most important and tapering down to the least important — T.F.Barnhart >
— see taper off
transitive verb
1. : to make or cause to taper
< taper a stick to a point >
2. : to cut and thin (the hair) so that the ends are invisibly blended
IV. tap·er \ˈtāpə(r)\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: tape (I) + -er
1. : a worker who applies tape (as to seal, label, protect, decorate, or strengthen objects) by hand or by machine
2. : a device for dispensing or applying tape |