*tappô

Reconstruction

The word is *tappô in Wiktionary,^[1] *tappōn in Orel,^[2] and *tappan or *tappō in Köbler.^[3] Kroonen's study of the n-stems has the stem *tappan-.^[4]

Etymology

Its origin is unknown in Köbler^[3] and unclear in Wiktionary.^[1]

Morphology

A masculine n-stem.^[3][2] Kroonen discusses it among the n-stems with a geminate: Upper German dialect forms with umlaut, beside Old High German zapfo, had been taken as a variant *teppan- or as a derivative *tappjan-, but the Visperterminen and Appenzell dialects rule both out, so that he reconstructs one paradigm without ablaut and puts the umlaut down to late analogy from the plural.^[4]

Evidence

The word is found in North and West Germanic: Old Norse tappi, Old English tæppa, Middle Low German tappe and Old High German zapfo.^[2] Köbler infers a Gothic *tappa from Romance words such as Spanish tapa (“lid”), but no Gothic form is recorded.^[5]

Competing analyses

Orel asks whether it is related to a Sanskrit verb "to push, to strike" and Ancient Greek δέφω (déphō, “to knead”);^[2] Wiktionary calls a relation to Sanskrit दिप् (dip, “to push, to strike”) and the Greek verb possible, and compares Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn.^[1] Orel derives *tap(p)ōjanan, the verb behind Old Norse tapa (“to lose”), from this word,^[2] but Wiktionary finds the link unlikely and takes that verb back to PIE *deh₂p- "to sacrifice, to lose".^[6]

Meanings

1. plug, tap^[1][3]

Old High German also used the word for "thorn" and "outgrowth".^[7]

Derivatives

• *tappijaną "to plug, to stop, to block";^[8] Orel's *tappjanan, derived from *tappōn.^[2]
• *tappōną "to tap, to draw off liquid".^[6]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: tappi (“tap”), in Orel's list^[2]
• Old English: tæppa (“tap, plug”)^[9]
• Old High German: zapfo (“plug, peg”)^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *tappô
2. ^ a b c d e f g Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 402
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *tappō-
4. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2011), The Proto-Germanic n-stems: A Study in Diachronic Morphophonology, Leiden Studies in Indo-European 18, Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi, p. 343
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *tappa
6. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *tappōną
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. zapfo
8. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *tappijaną
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. tæppa