English
tapster
Tapster comes from Middle English tappestere ‘a tavernkeeper or tapster’, from Old English tæppestre ‘barmaid’, and ultimately from tæppa.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tæppa
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150tæppestre‘barmaid’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tappestere‘a tavernkeeper or tapster’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1597tapster
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tæppa
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150tæppestre‘barmaid’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tappestere‘a tavernkeeper or tapster’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1597tapster
Earliest quotation: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wiues of Windsor: “[…] A tapster is a good trade: an old…”
Formed from tap + -ster
Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- ‘to lose’
Proto-Germanic *tappô ‘a plug, tap’
Proto-West Germanic *tappō
Old English tæppa ‘tap, spigot’
Middle English tappe ‘hollow device for controlling the flow of…’
English tap
Linked words
through Old English tæppa
Today it means
noun One whose business is to tap or draw ale or other liquor.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English tæppa / tapster