different between ease vs taper

English

Etymology

From Middle English ese, ays, etc., from Anglo-Norman ese (“ease”), from Old French eise and aise (“elbow room; opportunity”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Cognate with Provencal ais, Italian agio and asio, and Portuguese azo. Sometimes ascribed to Latin *asia or *asium, possibly from ansa (“handle; occasion”) but more likely from a Vulgar Latin *adjace(m), from Latin adjac?ns, present participle of adjace?. Alternatively, possibly from a non-Latin source such as Germanic or Celtic on the basis of the conflicting forms which appear in various Romance languages. Compare Old English ?eþe (“easy”), Gothic ???????????????????? (az?ti, “ease; pleasure”), *???????????????????? (*az?ts, “easy”), Breton eaz, ez (“easy”), Irish adhais (“easy; leisure”). Compare also Frankish *ansiju (“loophole, eyelet; handle, arms akimbo, elbow room”). See also eath.

The verb is from Middle English esen, ultimately of the same origin.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /i?z/
• (US) enPR: ?z, IPA^(key): /iz/,
• Rhymes: -i?z
• Homophones: ees, E's, 'e's

Noun

ease (uncountable)

1. Ability, the means to do something, particularly:
   1. (obsolete) Opportunity, chance.
      • a. 1200, Ancrene Riwle (Cleopatra MS C.vi), p. 213:

        ...?ef þer is eise to fulle þe dede...

   2. Skill, dexterity, facility.

2. Comfort, a state or quality lacking unpleasantness, particularly:
   1. Freedom from pain, hardship, and annoyance, sometimes (derogatory, archaic) idleness, sloth.

   2. Freedom from worry and concern; peace; sometimes (derogatory, archaic) indifference.

   3. Freedom from difficulty.

   4. Freedom from effort, leisure, rest.

   5. Freedom from financial effort or worry; affluence.

   6. Freedom from embarrassment or awkwardness; grace.

3. Relief, an end to discomfort, particularly:
   1. Followed by of or from: release from or reduction of pain, hardship, or annoyance.

   2. (euphemistic, obsolete) Release from intestinal discomfort: defecation.
   3. Release from constraint, obligation, or a constrained position.

   4. (clothing) Additional space provided to allow greater movement.

4. (obsolete) A convenience; a luxury.
5. (obsolete) A relief; an easement.

Synonyms

• (ability): ability, dexterity, facility, skill
• (comfort): comfort, peace
• (freedom from worry): peace of mind
• (freedom from effort): free time, leisure, relaxation, rest

Derived terms

Related terms

• easy, easiness

Translations

Verb

ease (third-person singular simple present eases, present participle easing, simple past and past participle eased)

1. (transitive) To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
   • Elyse Saugstad, a professional skier, wore a backpack equipped with an air bag, a relatively new and expensive part of the arsenal that backcountry users increasingly carry to ease their minds and increase survival odds in case of an avalanche.

2. (transitive) To alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain).

3. (transitive) To give respite to (someone).
4. (nautical, transitive) To loosen or slacken the tension on a line.

5. (transitive) To reduce the difficulty of (something).

6. (transitive) To move (something) slowly and carefully.

7. (intransitive) To lessen in severity.

8. (intransitive) To proceed with little effort.

Synonyms

• (free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc): assuage, salve
• (alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain)): allay, alleviate, assuage, lessen, reduce
• (give respite to (someone)): give someone a break (informal), lay off (informal)
• (loosen or slacken the tension on (something)): loosen, relax, slacken
• (reduce the difficulty of (something)): facilitate, simplify
• (lessen in severity): lessen, reduce
• (proceed with little effort): cruise

Translations

References

Middle English

Noun

ease (plural eases)

1. Alternative spelling of ese

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?te?p?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?te?p?/
• Rhymes: -e?p?(?)
• Homophone: tapir

Etymology 1

From Middle English taper, from Old English tapor (“taper, candle, wick of a lamp”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Latin papyrus (“papyrus", used in Mediaeval times to mean "wick of a candle”), or of Celtic origin related to Irish tapar (“taper”), Welsh tampr (“a taper, torch”). Compare Sanskrit ???? (tápati, “(it) warms, gives out heat; to be hot; to heat”). More at tepid.

Noun

taper (plural tapers)

1. A slender wax candle; a small lighted wax candle
   • ~1603, William Shakespeare, Othello, Act I, scene I, line 157:

     strike on the tinder, ho!/ Give me a taper.

   • 1913, Paul Laurence Dunbar, The Change

     Love used to carry a bow, you know,

     But now he carries a taper;

     It is either a length of wax aglow,

     Or a twist of lighted paper.

2. (by extension) a small light.
3. A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness and/or cross section in an elongated object

   the taper of a spire

   The legs of the table had a slight taper to them.

   • 2005, Michael Ellis, Apollo Rises (page 15)

     Her hair hangs over her ears and flows to a taper at the back of her neck where it is held in place with a wide and circular black clasp.

4. A thin stick used for lighting candles, either a wax-coated wick or a slow-burning wooden rod.

Derived terms

• taperwise

Translations

Verb

taper (third-person singular simple present tapers, present participle tapering, simple past and past participle tapered)

1. (transitive) To make thinner or narrower at one end.
   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 3

     Though true cylinders without — within, the villainous green goggling glasses deceitfully tapered downwards to a cheating bottom.

2. (intransitive) To diminish gradually.

Synonyms

• narrow

Derived terms

• taper off

Translations

Adjective

taper

1. Tapered; narrowing to a point.

Etymology 2

tape +? -er

Noun

taper (plural tapers)

1. (weaving) One who operates a tape machine.
2. Someone who works with tape or tapes.

Anagrams

• Peart, Petra, apert, apter, parte, pater, peart, petar, petra, prate, preta, reapt, repat, retap, trape, treap

Danish

Verb

taper

1. present of tape

French

Etymology

From Middle French taper, from Old French tapper, taper (“to tap”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *tapp?n, *dabb?n (“to strike”) or from Middle Low German tappen, tapen (“to tap, rap, strike”); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dab- (“to strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *d?eb?- (“to beat, strike, stun, be speechless”). Related to German tappen (“to grope, fumble”), Dutch deppen (“to dab”), Icelandic tappa, tapsa, tæpta (“to tap”). Related to dab.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.pe/
• Rhymes: -e
• Homophones: tapai, tapé, tapée, tapées, tapés, tapez

Verb

taper

1. (transitive) to slap, knock, beat
2. (transitive) to type (use a keyboard or typewriter)
3. (transitive with sur) to hit, beat, rap
4. (intransitive) to beat down (of the sun); to go to one's head (of wine etc.)
5. (intransitive, slang) to stink, pong, reek
6. (reflexive, slang) to put away (a meal etc.)

   Je me suis tapé un bon petit hamburger hier soir.

7. (reflexive, vulgar, slang) to fuck (have sex)

   Il s'est tapé la fille de son patron.

8. (reflexive) to put up with

Conjugation

Derived terms

See also

• frapper
• cogner

Further reading

• “taper” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• parte, pâtre, prêta, tarpé

Middle English

Alternative forms

• tapre, tapyr, tapir, tapor, tapour, tapur, tapper

Etymology

From Old English tapor, possibly from Latin pap?rus (if so, a doublet of paper).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ta?p?r/

Noun

taper (plural tapres)

1. taper (thin candle)

Descendants

• English: taper

References

• “t?per, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Norman

Pronunciation

Verb

taper (gerund tap'thie)

1. (Jersey, onomatopoeia) to hit, knock

Derived terms

• taper raide (“to hit hard”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From tape (“to lose”) +? -er.

Noun

taper m (definite singular taperen, indefinite plural tapere, definite plural taperne)

1. a loser

Related terms

• tapar (Nynorsk)

Verb

taper

1. present tense of tape (“to lose”)

Etymology 2

Noun

taper m

1. indefinite plural of tape

Verb

taper

1. present tense of tape (“to tape”)

References

• “taper” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “taper” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Anagrams

• paret, parte, pater, patre, Petra, prate, rapet, rapte

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

taper

1. present of tape (to lose)

Walloon

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

taper

1. to throw