rap English · revision 7691

+ The common rap, a blow, and the slang rap, to talk, are one word, but rap, the least bit, comes from the name of a counterfeit Irish coin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹæp/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|blow, talk}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=c. 1300}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English rappe, probably of imitative origin (compare [[clap]], [[flap]], [[slap]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) but much like Swedish rapp, Norwegian rapp and Danish rap, a light blow, which may suggest a Scandinavian source.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A quick, light blow: about 1300 in Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) a blow, 1340–70 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb, to strike, is from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) A sharp knock, as on a door, is from 1637.^(OED 1989) To utter sharply, let off an oath, is from 1541.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) A rebuke is first recorded in 1777 in American English,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and ''a rap on the knuckles'' is associated with rebuke from the end of the 18th century.^(Cresswell 2021) A criminal charge is American slang from 1903, and a prison sentence (''take the rap'', ''beat the rap'') from 1927.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) British slang rap, to say, is from 1879,^(Barnhart 1988) and informal talk is from 1898 in British English.^(Barnhart 1988) To talk or chat is from 1929, in Damon Runyon, and was popularized about 1965 in African-American speech, possibly by way of Caribbean English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The rhythmic speech of rap music was New York slang by 1979.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – a light blow.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1541 – to utter sharply.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1777 – a rebuke.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1903 – a criminal charge.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1929 – to chat.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1979 – rap music.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A quick, light [[blow]] or [[knock]], or its sound.^(AHD)

+ # A [[reprimand]], or ''(slang)'' the blame or punishment for something: ''take the rap''.^(AHD)^(Cresswell 2021)

+ # ''(slang)'' A criminal charge or prison sentence.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A style of [[popular]] music with rhythmic, rhyming speech over a beat.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To strike or knock sharply.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To say sharply: ''to rap out orders''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To criticize or blame.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' To talk freely; to perform rap.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rapper]]

+ * [[rapping]]

+ * [[rap sheet]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|least bit}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=clipping|attested=1724|origins=ga ropaire}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was the name of a counterfeit coin used in 18th-century Ireland for a halfpenny,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) of uncertain origin in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) an abbreviation of Irish [[m|ga|ropaire]] in Hoad.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A counterfeit Irish halfpenny: 1724, in Swift's ''Drapier's Letters''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A coin of the smallest value, the smallest amount of money, is from Byron's ''Don Juan'' (1823), alluding to Swift.^(Barnhart 1988) The least bit, as in ''not to care a rap'', is from 1834.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1724 – the counterfeit coin.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1823 – the smallest amount of money.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1834 – not care a rap.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(informal)'' The least bit: ''not care a rap''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[clap]]

+ * [[slap]]

+ * [[rapt]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A further rap, to snatch or to carry away in ecstasy, is a back-formation from [[rapt]].^(MWU 2024)^(AHD) In Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon dialect a rap was a thin strip of land.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}