knap

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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English knappen, an onomatopeia

Verb[edit]

knap (third-person singular simple present knaps, present participle knapping, simple past and past participle knapped)

  1. (transitive) To shape a vitreous mineral (flint, obsidian, chert etc.) by breaking away flakes, often forming a sharp edge or point.
  2. (transitive) To rap or strike sharply.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)
    • 1820, The Edinburgh Monthly Magazine, volume 8, no.43, page 81, October 1820.
      Some entered the ring in very bad condition, and immediately got a-piping, like hot mutton pies - fell on their own blows, and knapped it every round, till they shewed the white feather and bolted.
    • 1977, Marilynne K. Roach, Encounters with the Invisible World, page 10, ISBN 0690012772.
      "That will be sixpence," he said without looking up. She knapped her lips together and turned on her heel without another word.
  3. (obsolete, Britain, dialect) To bite; to bite off; to break short.
    • Dr. H. More:
      He will knap the spears apieces with his teeth.
    • Psalms xlvi. 9 (Book of Common Prayer):
      He breaketh the bow, and knappeth the spear in sunder.
    • 1821, John Clare, "The Village Minstrel":
      "Horses..turn'd to knap each other at their ease."
  4. To make a sound of snapping.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Wiseman to this entry?)
Usage notes[edit]

(to shape a vitreous mineral) In modern usage knap is restricted to the specific technique of percussion flaking whereby flakes are removed across an entire face or facet leaving a conchoidal fracture. It is distinguished from the more general verb chip and is different from "carve" (removing only part of a face), and "cleave" (breaking along a natural plane). The term is used in archaeology for the production of flaked stone tools and in gunsmithing for the production of gunflints. Knap is rarely used in stonemasonry except to denote fine chipping done with smaller hammers but without the chisel.

Synonyms[edit]
  • (break flakes from a mineral): chip
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

knap (plural knaps)

  1. A sharp blow or slap.
    • 2012, Andrew Ashenden, Basics of Stage Combat: Unarmed, ISBN 1612330711.
      It tells the audience the punch was thrown, they hear a knap, and the victim is 'injured'.

See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Middle English, from Old English cnæp, akin to cnotta 'knot'

Noun[edit]

knap (plural knaps) (chiefly dialect)

  1. A protuberance; a swelling; a knob.
  2. The crest of a hill
  3. A small hill
    • Holland
      the highest part and knap of the same island

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for knap in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Danish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /knap/, [kʰnɑb̥]

Adjective[edit]

knap

  1. scanty, scarce
  2. brief, concise

Inflection[edit]

Inflection of knap
Positive Comparative Superlative
Common singular knap — —2
Neuter singular knapt — —2
Plural knappe — —2
Definite attributive1 knappe — —
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Adverb[edit]

knap

  1. hardly, scarcely
  2. just under
  3. barely

Noun[edit]

knap c (singular definite knappen, plural indefinite knapper)

  1. button
  2. knob
  3. controls

Inflection[edit]

Declension of knap
common
gender		 Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative knap knappen knapper knapperne
genitive knaps knappens knappers knappernes

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Unknown. Found only in Dutch and Low German.

Adjective[edit]

knap (comparative knapper, superlative knapst)

  1. smart, intelligent, gifted, talented, clever
    Synonyms: begaafd, slim
  2. impressive
    Oh, dat is best knap.
    Oh, that's pretty impressive.
    Synonyms: netjes
  3. attractive, beautiful, handsome
    Synonyms: aantrekkelijk
Inflection[edit]
Inflection of knap
uninflected knap
inflected knappe
comparative knapper
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial knap knapper het knapst
het knapste
indefinite m./f. sing. knappe knappere knapste
n. sing. knap knapper knapste
plural knappe knappere knapste
definite knappe knappere knapste
partitive knaps knappers —
Derived terms[edit]

Adverb[edit]

knap

  1. quite/rather ... (reinforces what follows)

Etymology 2[edit]

Non-lemma forms.

Verb[edit]

knap

  1. first-person singular present indicative of knappen
  2. imperative of knappen

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From German knapp

Adjective[edit]

knap (Cyrillic spelling кнап)

  1. (colloquial) tight

Adverb[edit]

knap (Cyrillic spelling кнап)

  1. (colloquial) tightly, barely

Related terms[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Noun[edit]

knap

  1. A cleat
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