tape

name

1. a nearly extinct language spoken on Vanuatu

noun

Etymology: From Middle English tape, tappe, from Old English tæppa, tæppe (“ribbon, tape”); further origin unclear. Probably akin to Old Frisian tapia (“to pull, rip, tear”), Middle Low German tappen, tāpen (“to grab, pull, rip, tear, snatch”), Middle High German zāfen, zāven (“to pull, tear”).

1. Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape.

   “Hand me some tape. I need to fix a tear in this paper.”

   “I sealed up the box with clear shipping tape.”

2. Thin and flat paper, plastic or similar flexible material, usually produced in the form of a roll.

   “We made some decorative flowers out of the tape we bought.”

3. Finishing tape, stretched across a track to mark the end of a race.

   “Jones broke the tape in 47.77 seconds, a new world record.”

4. Magnetic or optical recording media in a roll; videotape or audio tape.

   “Did you get that on tape?”

   “So we went around the corner, looked in the garbage, and, boom, there's about 16 of the tapes he didn't like!”

5. Any video or audio recording, regardless of the method used to produce it.

   ““It was one of the most severe beatings they’ve seen on tape,” an FDNY insider said, recalling the reaction by brass who viewed video of the bloody fisticuffs.”

6. An unthinking, patterned response triggered by a particular stimulus.

   “Old couples will sometimes play tapes at each other during a fight.”

7. The series of prices at which a financial instrument trades.

   “Don’t fight the tape.”

8. The wrapping of the primary puck-handling surface of a hockey stick.

   “His pass was right on the tape.”

9. A strong flexible band rotating on pulleys for directing the sheets in a printing machine.
10. Liquor, alcoholic drink, especially gin or brandy. (Especially in prison slang or among domestic servants and women.)

    “white tape, Holland tape, blue tape (gin); red tape (brandy or wine)”

    “Madam Gin has been christened by as many names as a German princess : every petty chandler's shop will sell you Sky-blue, and every night-cellar furnish you with Holland tape, three yards a penny. Nor can I see the difference […]”

11. Clipping of red tape (“time-consuming bureaucratic procedures”).

    “[When dealing with the] Federal Government, "red tape" is unavoidable. Perseverance, good humor and thoroughness will almost invariably cut through the "tape” or lead to the proper official where courteous and attentive treatment will be received.”

    “He was going to cut through the tape and ship this Army stuff straight to France.”

verb

Etymology: From Middle English tape, tappe, from Old English tæppa, tæppe (“ribbon, tape”); further origin unclear. Probably akin to Old Frisian tapia (“to pull, rip, tear”), Middle Low German tappen, tāpen (“to grab, pull, rip, tear, snatch”), Middle High German zāfen, zāven (“to pull, tear”).

1. To bind with adhesive tape.

   “Be sure to tape your parcel securely before posting it.”

   “The agent had to dead-drop the locker key to the PGU by some simple means, such as by taping it underneath a predesignated park bench, where it could be retrieved unobtrusively, usually by an officer under illegal cover.”

2. To record, originally onto magnetic tape.

   “You shouldn’t have said that. The microphone was on and we were taping.”

   “The warmup guy — as I now know is common for live audiences in taped television performances — kept fluffing the crowd like they were preschoolers. “Now what are you going to do when we introduce the first comedian?” Wild cheers. “C'mon, that's not good enough! Let's try it again! What are you going to do???””

3. To understand, figure out.

   “I've finally got this thing taped.”