tapa

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑːpə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːpə

Borrowed from Tongan tapa.^[1]

tapa (countable and uncountable, plural tapas)

2. A kind of cloth prepared by the Polynesians from the inner bark of the paper mulberry.

   Synonym: kapa

   • 2005, Roger Neich, Mick Pendergrast, Pacific Tapa, University of Hawaii Press, unnumbered page:

     For many of these cultures, clothing — or at least coverings for basic modesty such as loincloths and G-strings — is the main use of tapa.

• tappa

Borrowed from Spanish tapa. Doublet of tap.

tapa (plural tapas)

2. Any appetizer or snack served in the evening as part of tapas.

Borrowed from Tagalog tapa.

tapa (uncountable)

2. Seasoned slices of dried or cured meat in Filipino cuisine.
   • 2021 February 27, Rebecca King, “Bountiful Bergenfield”, in Daily Record, volume 34, number 92, Rockaway, N.J., →OCLC, page 2D, column 1:

     Cusinera serves stupendous silog (traditional Filipino breakfast, $5.61) — eggs with garlic rice and a protein of your choice, such as daing (crispy dried fish), longaniza (juicy, garlicky pork sausage) and tapa (cured beef steak).

• tapa cloth on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• tapas on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• tapa (Filipino cuisine) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• APTA, PATA, atap

From Proto-Great Andamanese *tapə.

tapa

1. blind

• Juliette Blevins, Linguistic clues to Andamanese pre-history: Understanding the North-South divide, pg. 20 (2009)

tapa

1. to cut

• Kateřina Naitoro, A Sketch Grammar of 'Are'are: The Sound System and Morpho-Syntax (2013)

From Gothic *tappa, from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug, tap”).

tapa f (plural tapes)

1. lid (top or cover)

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈta.pə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈta.pa]

From Gothic *tappa, from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug, tap”). Doublet of tap.

tapa f (plural tapes)

1. lid, top, cover
2. cover (of a book)

   Synonym: coberta

3. heelplate (reinforcing piece on the heel of a shoe)
4. tapa (appetizer)

• de tapa dura (“hardcover”)
• de tapa tova (“softcover”)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

tapa

1. inflection of tapar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “tapa”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

• Hyphenation: ta‧pa

tapa

1. thinly sliced fried beef

tapa

1. to smoke fish

tapa

1. Second-person singular imperative form of tapma.
2. Present connegative form of tapma.

From Old Norse tapa.

• IPA^(key): [ˈtɛapa]

tapa (third person singular past indicative tapti, third person plural past indicative taptu, supine tapt)

1. to lose
   • tapa dyst

     to lose the match

From Proto-Finnic *tapa, borrowed from Proto-Baltic *dabāˀ (compare Latvian daba).

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑpɑ/, [ˈt̪ɑ̝pɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑpɑ
• Syllabification^(key): ta‧pa
• Hyphenation^(key): ta‧pa

tapa

1. habit (action performed on a regular basis) [with first infinitive ‘to do’]

   Meillä oli sunnuntaisin tapana mennä rannalle.

   We used to go to the beach on Sundays. / We would go to the beach on Sundays.

2. habit (action performed repeatedly and automatically, usually without awareness) [with first infinitive ‘to do’]

   Synonym: tottumus

3. custom (frequent repetition of the same act) [with first infinitive ‘to do’]

   Synonym: käytäntö

4. (usually in the plural) habit, manner (one's customary method of acting)
5. (usually in the plural) manner (good, polite behavior)
6. way, manner (to do something) [with illative ‘for’; or with first infinitive ‘to do’]

   jollain tavalla ― some way, by some means, somehow

• “tapa”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 1 July 2023

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑpɑˣ/, [ˈt̪ɑ̝pɑ̝(ʔ)]
• Rhymes: -ɑpɑ
• Syllabification^(key): ta‧pa
• Hyphenation^(key): ta‧pa

tapa

1. inflection of tappaa:
   1. present active indicative connegative
   2. second-person singular present imperative
   3. second-person singular present active imperative connegative

• apat, pata

• Audio:

  (file)

tapa

1. third-person singular past historic of taper

tapa

1. inflection of tapar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

From Old Norse tapa (“to lose”), cognate with the Swedish tappa and Danish tabe.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʰaːpa/
• Rhymes: -aːpa

tapa (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative tapaði, supine tapað)

1. to lose [with dative]

• tap

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈtapa/ [ˈt̪a.pa]
• Rhymes: -apa
• Syllabification: ta‧pa

From Sanskrit तप (tapa), तपस् (tapas).

tapa

1. to do asceticism

tapa

1. a fish, (Gastromyzon borneensis)

• tapah

From Minangkabau, from Sanskrit तप (tapa).

tapa

1. strong

tapa

1. alternative form of tempa

• “tapa” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

From Proto-Finnic *tapa. Cognates include Finnish tapa and Estonian tava.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑpɑ/, [ˈtɑpɑ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑpɑ/, [ˈtɑb̥ɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑpɑ
• Hyphenation: ta‧pa

tapa

1. way, manner
   • 1937, N. Iljin, Iƶoran Keelen Programma Alkușkoulua vart‎^[2], Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 3:

     Programman materiala ono jaettu jokahist oppivootta vart mokomal taval:

     The material of the curriculum is divided for every school year in the following way:

2. custom, tradition
   • 2009, Inkeri‎^[3], volume 1, number 71, St. Petersburg, page 9:

     Hävijä heien kieli, kultuuri, tavad.

     Their language is disappearing, their culture, customs.

3. character, disposition
   • 1937, N. A. Iljin, Lukukirja: Inkeroisia alkușkouluja vart (kolmas osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 78:

     Jo kaik pogranicnikat tiisivät hänen hoolimattoman tavan.

     All the border guards already knew his disobedient character.

Declension of tapa (type 3/kana, p-v gradation, gemination)
	singular	plural
nominative	tapa	tavat
genitive	tavan	tappoin
partitive	tappaa	tapoja
illative	tappaa	tappoi
inessive	tavas	tavois
elative	tavast	tavoist
allative	tavalle	tavoille
adessive	taval	tavoil
ablative	tavalt	tavoilt
translative	tavaks	tavoiks
essive	tapanna, tappaan	tapoinna, tappoin
exessive1)	tapant	tapoint
1) obsolete *) the accusative corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) **) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka? or -kä? to the genitive.

• (manner): mooto, koosi

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑpɑ/, [ˈtɑpɑ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑpɑ/, [ˈtɑb̥ɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑpɑ
• Hyphenation: ta‧pa

tapa

1. inflection of tappaa:
   1. present indicative connegative
   2. second-person singular imperative
   3. second-person singular imperative connegative

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 565

• tapadh (nonstandard, archaic)
• tapaidh (Munster, Ulster)

• IPA^(key): /ˈt̪ˠapˠə/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈt̪ˠapˠuː/^[1] (corresponding to the form tapadh)

tapa

1. quick, ready, active

   Synonyms: mear, gasta, luath, sciobtha

   Antonym: mall

   Tá sé tapa as a lámha. ― He is quick with his hands.

   Tá sí tapa ar a cosa. ― She is fast on her feet.

   Nach tapa a choir sé? ― Didn't he tire very quickly?

• go beo tapa

tapa m (genitive singular tapa)

1. quickness, speed

   Synonyms: éascaíocht, luas, mire, tapúlacht

   Antonym: moille

2. readiness
3. activity, vigour

   Synonyms: lúth, gníomh

   Níl treoir ná tapa ann. ― He has neither strength nor vigour.

• ar do thapa
• déan tapa
• de thapa na huaire

• tapaigh

tapa f (4th declension)

1. plug (hole filler)
2. peg
3. spigot
4. pin
5. stopgap

tapa

1. third-person singular/plural past indicative of tapt

From Proto-Polynesian *tapas variant of *tapas-i (“to cut” – compare with Rarotongan tapaʻi “to chop down lengthwise, to cleave”, Tahitian tapahi “to cut or split a fruit into two, to cut down a tree”, Samoan tafa, Tongan tafa “to cut open (of boils), to incise, to carve”), from Proto-Oceanic *tapasi (compare with Fijian tava “to cut with a knife, to castrate”) from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tabas (compare with Malay tebas “to slash or cut down grasses, small plants”, Tagalog tabas “to cut fabric, paper”).^[1][2] Doublet of tapahi.

tapa (passive tapahia)

1. to cut, to chop
2. to reap, to harvest (of crops like wheat)

tapa

1. split

From Proto-Polynesian *tapa.

tapa

1. rim, edge, boundary
2. labia

From (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

tapa (passive tapaia or tapangia)

1. to call or name someone

   Synonyms: ingoa, whakaingoa

2. to command
3. to recite, to incantate

   Synonym: whakataki

• tapatapa

• Williams, Herbert William (1917) “tapa”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 446
• “tapa” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

From or cognate to a Cariban word like Kari'na topu (“stone”).

tapa

1. stone

• Willem F. H. Adelaar, The Languages of the Andes (2004)
• Napoleón Peralta Barrera, El país de los muzos (1998)

• tapene

tapa n

1. definite plural of tap

• IPA^(key): /²tɑːpɑ/

tapa (present tense tapar/taper, past tense tapa/tapte, past participle tapa/tapt, passive infinitive tapast, present participle tapande, imperative tapa/tap)

1. a-infinitive and split infinitive form of tape

• IPA^(key): /²tæɪ̯.pɑ/

tapa (present tense tapar, past tense tapa, past participle tapa, passive infinitive tapast, present participle tapande, imperative tapa/tap)

1. alternative spelling of teipa

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑːpɑ/

tapa n

1. definite plural of tap

• “tapa” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Proto-Germanic *tappōną, from Proto-Indo-European *dh₂pnéh₂ti, from *deh₂p- (“to lose, sacrifice”), from *deh₂- (“to divide”).

tapa

1. to lose [with dative]

• tapan f, tǫpun f

• Danish: tabe
• Faroese: tapa
• Icelandic: tapa
• Norwegian: tape, tapa
• Swedish: tappa

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “tapa”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

• Rhymes: -apɐ
• Hyphenation: ta‧pa

Ellipsis of tapa-boca.

tapa (Brazil) m or (Portugal) f (plural tapas)

1. a slap
2. (informal) argument without a replica
3. (Brazil, slang) discrete marijuana use

Deverbal from tapar, from Gothic *tappa, from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug, tap”). Cognate with Italian tappare.

tapa f (plural tapas)

1. tampion (plug for the muzzle of a gun)
2. (Brazil) a blindfold for a stubborn mule or horse

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

tapa

1. inflection of tapar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “tapa”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “tapa”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025

Borrowed from French taper.

• IPA^(key): /taˈpa/

a tapa (third-person singular present tapează, past participle tapat) 1st conjugation

1. to borrow money without the intention to return it

• “tapa”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

• IPA^(key): /ˈtapa/ [ˈt̪a.pa]
• Rhymes: -apa
• Syllabification: ta‧pa

From Gothic *𐍄𐌰𐍀𐍀𐌰 (*tappa), from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug, tap”). Cognate with Italian tappare and English tap.

tapa f (plural tapas)

1. lid, cap (the top or cover of a container)

   Synonyms: tapadera, (for bottles) tapón

2. the bottom of a shoe's heel
3. cover (the front and back of a book)

   Synonyms: (front cover) portada, cubierta

   de tapa blanda ― softcover

   de tapa dura ― hardcover

4. sluicegate

   Synonym: compuerta

5. flank (a cut of meat from the flank of a cow)
6. tapa, appetizer (small portion of food)
7. (Paraguay, Rioplatense) dough for making empanadas

• Tapa is a false friend and does not mean tap. Spanish equivalents are shown in the "Translations" section of the English entry tap.

• → English: tapa

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

tapa

1. inflection of tapar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

From Tagalog tapa. Compare English tapa.

tapa f (plural tapas)

1. (Philippines) salted slices of dried or cured meat in Filipino cuisine (usually beef)

• “tapa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
• Abella, Venancio María de (1874) Vade-Mecum Filipino ó manual de la conversacion familiar Español-Tagalog. Seguido de un curioso Vocabulario de Modismos Manileños.‎^[4], 12.ᵃ edition (overall work in Spanish and Tagalog), Escolta, Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier, á cargo de C. Miralles., page 123

• pata, apta

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

-tapa (infinitive kutapa)

1. to shiver, quiver, shudder

Conjugation of -tapa
Positive present -natapa Subjunctive -tape Negative -tapi Imperative singular tapa
Infinitives
Positive kutapa Negative kutotapa
Imperatives
Singular tapa Plural tapeni
Tensed forms
Habitual hutapa Positive past positive subject concord + -litapa Negative past negative subject concord + -kutapa
Positive present (positive subject concord + -natapa) Singular Plural 1st person ninatapa/natapa tunatapa 2nd person unatapa mnatapa 3rd person m-wa(I/II) anatapa wanatapa other classes positive subject concord + -natapa
Negative present (negative subject concord + -tapi) Singular Plural 1st person sitapi hatutapi 2nd person hutapi hamtapi 3rd person m-wa(I/II) hatapi hawatapi other classes negative subject concord + -tapi
Positive future positive subject concord + -tatapa Negative future negative subject concord + -tatapa
Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -tape) Singular Plural 1st person nitape tutape 2nd person utape mtape 3rd person m-wa(I/II) atape watape other classes positive subject concord + -tape
Negative subjunctive positive subject concord + -sitape Positive present conditional positive subject concord + -ngetapa Negative present conditional positive subject concord + -singetapa Positive past conditional positive subject concord + -ngalitapa Negative past conditional positive subject concord + -singalitapa
Gnomic (positive subject concord + -atapa) Singular Plural 1st person natapa twatapa 2nd person watapa mwatapa 3rd person m-wa(I/II) atapa watapa m-mi(III/IV) watapa yatapa ji-ma(V/VI) latapa yatapa ki-vi(VII/VIII) chatapa vyatapa n(IX/X) yatapa zatapa u(XI) watapa see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) kwatapa pa(XVI) patapa mu(XVIII) mwatapa
Perfect positive subject concord + -metapa "Already" positive subject concord + -meshatapa "Not yet" negative subject concord + -jatapa "If/When" positive subject concord + -kitapa "If not" positive subject concord + -sipotapa Consecutive katapa / positive subject concord + -katapa Consecutive subjunctive positive subject concord + -katape
Object concord (indicative positive) Singular Plural 1st person -nitapa -tutapa 2nd person -kutapa -watapa/-kutapeni/-watapeni 3rd person m-wa(I/II) -mtapa -watapa m-mi(III/IV) -utapa -itapa ji-ma(V/VI) -litapa -yatapa ki-vi(VII/VIII) -kitapa -vitapa n(IX/X) -itapa -zitapa u(XI) -utapa see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kutapa pa(XVI) -patapa mu(XVIII) -mutapa Reflexive -jitapa
Relative forms General positive (positive subject concord + (object concord) + -tapa- + relative marker) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -tapaye -tapao m-mi(III/IV) -tapao -tapayo ji-ma(V/VI) -tapalo -tapayo ki-vi(VII/VIII) -tapacho -tapavyo n(IX/X) -tapayo -tapazo u(XI) -tapao see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -tapako pa(XVI) -tapapo mu(XVIII) -tapamo Other forms (subject concord + tense marker + relative marker + (object concord) + -tapa) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -yetapa -otapa m-mi(III/IV) -otapa -yotapa ji-ma(V/VI) -lotapa -yotapa ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chotapa -vyotapa n(IX/X) -yotapa -zotapa u(XI) -otapa see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kotapa pa(XVI) -potapa mu(XVIII) -motapa
Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tapa, ultimately from Proto-Austronesian *Capa. See also Sanskrit तप (tapa, “heat”).

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /ˈtapa/ [ˈt̪aː.pɐ] (“jerked meat, jerky”, noun; “jerked”, adjective)
    • Rhymes: -apa
  • IPA^(key): /taˈpa/ [t̪ɐˈpa] (“smoked”, adjective)
    • Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ta‧pa

tapa (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜉ)

1. jerked meat; jerky (especially beef or pork)

tapa (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜉ)

1. jerked; preserved by jerking

   Synonym: tinapa

tapá (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜉ)

1. smoked; cured by exposure to smoke (of meat or fish)

• tinapa

• “tapa”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*Capa”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

• pata, apat

Adapted from Malay tampal or tempel.

• IPA^(key): [ˈta.pa]

tapa

1. (transitive) to patch something

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

From Proto-Polynesian *tapa.

• IPA^(key): /ta.pa/

tapa

1. tapa (bordered Polynesian cloth)
2. edge; border

• → English: tapa

tapa

1. to flick

From Proto-Finnic *tapa.

• (Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑpɑ/, [ˈtɑpɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑpɑ
• Hyphenation: ta‧pa

tapa

1. way, manner
2. custom
3. nature, character

Declension of tapa (type III/jalkõ, p-v gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	tapa	tavad
genitive	tava	tapojõ, tapoi
partitive	tappa	tapoitõ, tapoi
illative	tappasõ, tappa	tapoisõ
inessive	tavaz	tapoiz
elative	tavassõ	tapoissõ
allative	tavalõ	tapoilõ
adessive	tavallõ	tapoillõ
ablative	tavaltõ	tapoiltõ
translative	tavassi	tapoissi
*) the accusative corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) **) the terminative is formed by adding the suffix -ssaa to the short illative (sg) or the genitive. ***) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka to the genitive.

• Hallap, V., Adler, E., Grünberg, S., Leppik, M. (2012) “tapa”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

-tâpa

1. to extract, to take out
2. to demolish

• C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “tapa”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “tapa (3.9)”