Tap

Tap, tap, n. a hole or short pipe through which liquor is drawn: a place where liquor is drawn: any particular liquor drawn through a tap.—v.t. to pierce, so as to let out fluid: to open a cask and draw off liquor: to broach a vessel.—v.i. to act as a tapster:—pr.p. tap′ping; pa.t. and pa.p. tapped.—ns. Tap′-bolt, a bolt with a head on one end and a thread on the other, to be screwed into some fixed part instead of passing through and receiving a nut; Tap′-cin′der, slag produced during puddling; Tap′-house, a tavern; Tap′lash, poor stale swipes; Tapote′ment, percussion; Tap′per, one who taps; Tap′ping, an operation frequently resorted to for the removal of fluid accumulations, particularly in the pleural and peritoneal cavities, consisting in the introduction of one end of a small tube into the cavity and withdrawing the fluid by siphon action, or by means of a vacuum: the act or art of tapping or drawing out fluid; Tap′room, a room where beer is served from the tap or cask; Tap′root, a root of a plant or tree striking directly downward without dividing, and tapering towards the end, as that of the carrot; Tap′ster, one who taps or draws off liquor, a publican, barman.—On tap, kept in cask—opp. to bottled: ready to be drawn upon. [A.S. tæppe, seen in tæppere, one who taps casks; Dut. tap, Ger. zapfen, a tap.]