Tapers

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. A consistent decrease in width or diameter can be observed in various objects, such as candles or tools
2. The method of shaping objects to become thinner at one end is seen in products like pencils or tapered drills
3. A gradual reduction in thickness or width towards one end ; the act or process of reducing in width or diameter progressively

Etymology: The noun "taper" has been a candle-like object for over a thousand years, and it began as a stick of light rather than a thin shape. Old English "tapor" meant a candle or the wick of a lamp, and its origin is uncertain. One possibility links it to Latin "papyrus," which in the Middle Ages was used to mean a candle's wick, making it a doublet of that plant name. Another possibility connects it to Celtic words such as Irish "tapar" and Welsh "tampr," meaning a torch. The verb sense, to grow steadily thinner, grew out of the candle itself. A candle narrows as it burns down, so "taper" came to describe anything that narrows gradually toward a point, such as a tree trunk, a spire or a finger. The plural "tapers" is simply the noun or third-person form of that verb, so it carries both the candle image and the idea of gradual narrowing.

Synonyms: slim, narrow, diminish, reduce

Antonyms: widen, broaden, expand