Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1700, 1772, 1827-1960
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TAP, n.2, v.2 Dim. tappie. Sc. form of Eng. top, the plaything. [tɑp]
I. n. 1. As in Eng. (Sc. 1808 Jam.), esp. applied to the whipping-top as opposed to the Peerie or peg-top, spun with a string. Freq. also used in similes for sound sleep. Gen.Sc. Adv. tapwise, spinning like a top.Sc. c.1700 J. Maidment Pasquils (1868) 409:
Thou drinks and never leaves a drappie, Until thou sleepest lyke a tappie.Edb. 1772 Fergusson Poems (S.T.S.) II. 98:
Troth I cud doze as sound's a tap, Wer't na for thee.Sc. 1827 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) I. 361:
Like taps and peeries.Sc. 1876 Bk. of Sc. Story 226:
A skelp that made me turn round tapwise on the middle of the floor.Fif. 1895 S. Tytler Kincaid's Widow xvii.:
Sleepin as soond as a tap.Sc. 1926 Edb. Ev. News (6 Aug.) 4:
Oh! sic a tap tae this wee boy!
2. A conical grooved piece of wood used to keep the strands apart and tensed in rope-making, a strand-layer (Sh., Cai. 1972).Bwk. 1960 Scottish Studies IV. 117:
A wooden “tap” is used to impart a smooth twist and even tension. The tap is a truncated conical wedge.
II. v. To twist strands of cord with a tap (see I. 2.).Abd. c.1890 Gregor MSS.:
About fifty years ago fishermen all round the coast for the most part span their lines by means of the distaff. When the thread was spun, they had to go to a level space of length sufficient to allow them to tap or twist the threads into line.
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"Tap n.2, v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/tap_n2_v2>
