neap
The tongue or pole of a cart or other vehicle drawn by two animalsThe tongue or pole of a cart or other vehicle drawn by two animals.
Meaning
2 sensesThe tongue or pole of a cart or other vehicle drawn by two animals.
A neap tide.
- a less than average tide occurring at the first and third quarters of the moon
Origin
Perhaps of Scandinavian origin: compare dialectal Norwegian neip (“forked pole”). From MiPerhaps of Scandinavian origin: compare dialectal Norwegian neip (“forked pole”).
From Middle English neep, from Old English nēp (“scant, lacking”), possibly from Proto-Germanic *nōpiz (“narrow”). Found especially in Old English nēpflōd (“neap tide”, literally “low tide”). Compare Norwegian dialectal nøpen (“scarce, scant, barely enough”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.