knap

/næp/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
knap

He used a small hammer to knap a piece of flint.

Definition
  1. Verb:
    • To break or chip a small piece off from a hard material: This is the primary meaning, referring to the action of striking something hard like stone, glass, or a tooth to cause a small piece to break away.
    • To strike sharply; to rap: A less common, chiefly dialectal meaning, indicating a sharp, quick blow.
Usage and Examples
  • Verb (to break a piece off):
    • The sculptor used a hammer to knap the flint into a sharp tool.
    • Be careful not to knap the edge of the porcelain plate.
  • Verb (to strike sharply):
    • He would knap the table with his knuckles to get everyone's attention. (Dialectal/Archaic)
Advanced Usage
  • Technical/Archaeological Context: The verb "knap" is frequently used in archaeology and flintknapping to describe the skilled process of shaping stone (like flint or obsidian) into tools or weapons by controlled fracturing.
    • She learned to knap arrowheads using traditional techniques.
Variants and Related Words
  • Knapper (noun): A person who shapes stone by knapping.
    • The knapper demonstrated how to create a blade from a core of flint.
  • Knapping (noun/gerund): The action or skill of shaping stone by breaking off flakes.
    • Flint knapping is an ancient craft.
Synonyms
  • Chip: To break a small piece off something brittle.
  • Flake: To come off or remove in thin, small pieces (often used in the context of stone).
  • Fracture: To break or cause to break.
  • Rap: To strike with a quick, sharp blow. (For the secondary meaning)
Notes on Meaning
  • The primary modern use of "knap" as a verb is highly specific to the craft of shaping stone or similar hard, brittle materials. It is a technical term.
  • The meaning "to strike sharply" is considered dialectal, archaic, or rare in modern general English.
  • As a noun (meaning a hilltop or small hill), "knap" is a separate, homographic word of different origin, now largely obsolete or found only in British place names (e.g., Knap Hill). This noun form is not related to the verb's actions of breaking or striking.
knap

He used a small hammer to knap a piece of flint.

Verb
  1. break a small piece off from
    • chip the glass
    • chip a tooth
  2. strike sharply
    • rap him on the knuckles

Từ đồng nghĩa

Từ gần giống

Từ chứa "knap"