tappen

• Rhymes: -æpən

tappen (uncountable)

1. A plug that forms in the anus of a bear or other mammal during hibernation.
   • 1831, Lews Lloyd, Field sports of the north Europe‎^[1], volume 1, page 98:

     The inference drawn by the northern chasseurs from this is, that the tappen, in conjunction with repose, is the cause of the bear retaining his condition, though without taking any kind of nourishment, for nearly one-half of the year.

   • 1951, The New York State Conservationist, volumes 6-7, page 60:

     No food can pass through the system and a mechanical obstruction called a tappen or plug blocks the passage.

   • 1958, Will Barker, Winter-Sleeping Wildlife, page 41:

     Many hunters believe that the size of the tappen determines how soundly and how long a bear sleeps

• petnap, teppan

tappen

1. definite singular of tap

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑpə(n)/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑpən

From Middle Dutch tappen. Equivalent to tap +‎ -en.

tappen

1. (transitive) to tap (draw off liquid from a vessel)

• Berbice Creole Dutch: tapu

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

tappen

1. plural of tap

From Middle High German tāpen, from the onomatopoeic interjection tapp imitating soft walking sounds (of either animals or humans), whence also tipp tapp.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈtapən/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tap‧pen

tappen (weak, third-person singular present tappt, past tense tappte, past participle getappt, auxiliary haben or sein)

1. (intransitive) to pad (walk softly, quietly or steadily)
2. (intransitive) to grope, frisk (search by feeling)

• Tappen
• im Dunkeln tappen

• “tappen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “tappen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “tappen” in Duden online
• “tappen” in OpenThesaurus.de

From Old English tæppian, from Proto-Germanic *tappōną; equivalent to tappe (“plug”) +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

• tappe

• IPA^(key): /ˈtapən/

tappen (rare)

2. To let fluids flow from a spout.
3. To retail beer.

• English: tap
• Scots: tap

• “tappen, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 23 March 2019.

From Old French tapper, taper, from a Germanic language and ultimately imitative.

• tap, tep, tappyn

• IPA^(key): /ˈtapən/

tappen (rare)

2. To tap; to touch gently with hand or foot.

• English: tap

• “tappen, v.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 23 March 2019.

tappen

1. definite singular of tapp c
2. definite plural of tapp n