tupfen

See also: Tupfen

German

Etymology

From Middle High German tüpfen, tupfen (“to dip, to moisten”), from Old High German tuphen (“to dip, to moisten”), from Proto-Germanic *dupjaną. Cognate with English dip. The semantic development is due to association with Middle High German stuphen (“to poke”) and a dialectal (Central German) merger with unrelated tippen (“to tap”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʊpfən/, [ˈtʊpf(ə)n], [ˈtʊpɸ(ə)n]

Verb

1. to dab (to touch repeatedly with a soft, often moist, object)

Derived terms

• abtupfen