Tapes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A narrow strip of material that is adhesive on one side, used for sticking items together
2. A long roll made from plastic, paper, or fabric, often used in recordings or storage
3. A medium for sound or video recordings, typically encased in magnetic material for playback

Etymology: Tapes are the plural of "tape," and the Old English word it descends from, "tæppa" or "tæppe," meant a ribbon or strip of cloth. Its root is uncertain, but it is probably related to a group of Germanic verbs meaning "to pull," "to tear," or "to snatch," which hints at the strip being something drawn or torn away from a larger piece of material. Those verbs survive in Old Frisian "tapia" and Middle Low German "tappen," so the family of words was once used across the North Sea coast. English kept the sense of a narrow band, which later stretched to cover the wide ribbons of fabric and paper now used for measuring, binding, and recording. The plural simply counts several of these bands or reels at once.

Synonyms: films, records, strips, bands, ribbons