English
knap
Knap comes from Middle English knappen ‘to strike (something)’, and goes back to knappe.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knappe‘strike’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500knappen‘to strike (something)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1535knap
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knappe‘strike’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500knappen‘to strike (something)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1535knap
Earliest quotation: 1535, Myles Coverdale: “He hath made warres to ceaſſe in all the…”
The story
The verb is derived from Late Middle English knappen (‘to strike (something)’); further etymology uncertain, probably related to Middle Dutch knappen, cnappen (‘to break (something) with a sharp sound, snap; to crack or crackle’) (modern Dutch knappen), probably ultimately onomatopoeic.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.
Every English word from Middle English knappe
Another origin of knap
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knappôreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cnæp‘summit, top’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knap‘small projection, knob’
- Englishtodaysame form
From Middle English knap, knappe (‘small projection, knob (button, tassel, tuft, etc.); hill; hilltop; etc.’), from Old English cnæp, cnæpp (‘summit, top’); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Old Norse knappr (‘small projection, knob (button, head of a stick, etc.)’) (whence English knop), from Proto-Germanic *knappô, *knuppô.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.
Another origin of knap
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gnebʰ-root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*kneppenuncertain
- Englishtodayknap
Today it means
verb To break (something) into small pieces with a cracking sound; to fragment, to smash; also, to break (something) apart sharply; to snap.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English knappe / knap