knap

verb

1. (transitive)To break (something) into small pieces with a cracking sound; to fragment, to smash; also, to break (something) apart sharply; to snap.

   “He hath made warres to ceaſſe in all the worlde: he hath broken the bowe, he hath knapped the ſpeare in ſonder, ⁊ brẽt [brent] the charettes in the fyre.”

   “O God of peace vvhich makeſt an end of vvarre in al the vvorld, and breakeſt the bovve, and knappeſt the ſpeares aſunder, and burneſt the chariots vvith fire; protect vs from vvarre and ſlaughter; ſcatter the nations that delight in vvarre.”

   “VVhy I tye about thy vvriſt, / Julia, this my ſilken tvvist, / […] / 'Tis but ſilke that bindeth thee; / Knap the thread, and thou art free; / But 'tis othervviſe vvith me: / I am bound, and faſt bound ſo, / That from thee I cannot go; / If I co'd, I vvo'd not so.”

2. (especially, specifically, transitive)To break (something) into small pieces with a cracking sound; to fragment, to smash; also, to break (something) apart sharply; to snap.

   “An average workman will knap 3,000 flints in a day of 12 hours, but a good one will make 4,000 at a pinch.”

   “After every five or six shots, check the flint and tighten the jaws, if the flint has shifted. After twenty shots, flip the flint and dry fire the gun. This should knap the edge [of the flint].”

   “Not all chert and non-chert materials are amenable to knapping. […] Because a knapper removes flakes by loading force into a small area of the target core, materials that contain many inclusions or are coarse-grained are difficult to knap – the inclusions deflect energy producing irregular results.”

   “[O]ne knapper, who was very skilled and, therefore, presumed to be an adult, made highly standardized prismatic blades. These blades were widely distributed for use throughout the site – in fact, only 10 of the 50 blades and bladelets this individual crafted were found where they were knapped.”

3. (transitive)To strike (something) sharply; to knock, to rap.

   “Take one Veſſel of Siluer, and another of VVood, and fill each of them full of VVater, and then knap the Tongs together, as before, about an handfull from the Bottome, and you ſhall finde the Sound much more Reſounding from the Veſſel of Siluer, than from that of VVood: […] ſuch a Communication paſſeth farre better, thorovv VVater, than Aire.”

   “"That will be sixpence," he said without looking up. She knapped her lips together and turned on her heel without another word.”

4. (transitive)Followed by off: to break (something) away from another thing by striking or tapping sharply.

   “VVith his rod […] he knapt of the uppermoſt heads and tops of the poppies.”

   “Its [i.e., the foment is] prevalent in fixt Scorbutic Pains, for as much as it ſuſtains the Tone of the parts, layeth the vveary Spirits to reſt, knappeth off the ſharp points of the Salts, and forceth the acrid Ichor to evaporate either by inſenſible Effluvia or Svveat.”

5. (figuratively, transitive)To say (something) crisply or sharply.

   “[T]he evil spirit of the year sixteen hundred and forty-twa is at wark again as merrily as ever, and ilka [every] auld wife in the chimley-neuck will be for knapping doctrine wi' doctors o' divinity and the godly fathers o' the church.”

   “And there's Leddy Glendochart that is a real credit to the family, and has travelled, and can knap English with the best—far better than you.”

6. (intransitive)To break or fracture suddenly; to snap.

   “In ſtringinge of your bovv […] you muſt mark the fit length of youre bovve. […] Yf it [the string] be longe, the bendynge muſt nedes be in the ſmal of the ſtring, vvhich beynge ſore tvvined muſte nedes knap in ſunder to yͤ diſtruction of manye good bovves.”

7. (intransitive)To make a cracking or snapping sound; to crack, to snap.

   “If the Thigh-bone be luxated invvard, and the Patient young and of a tender Conſtitution, it may be reduced by the Hand of the Chirurgeon: […] [H]e muſt ſuddenly force the Knee up tovvards the Belly, and preſs back the head of the Femur into its Acetabulum, and it vvill knap in.”

8. (intransitive)To strike sharply.
9. (figuratively, intransitive)To speak crisply or sharply.
10. (figuratively, intransitive, obsolete)To cheat while gambling, especially at a dice game.
11. (UK, dialectal, transitive)To take a small, quick bite at or of (someone or something); to nibble, to nip, to snap.

    “I vvould ſhee vvere as lying goſſippe in that, as euer knapt Ginger, or made her neighbors beleeue ſhe vvept for the death of a third husband: […]”

    “[H]orses' playful neigh, / From rustic's whips, and plough, and waggon, free, / Baiting in careless freedom o'er the leas, / Or turn'd to knap each other at their ease.”

12. (UK, dialectal, intransitive)To take a small, quick bite.

    “[In Thomas Elyot's book The Boke Named the Governour (1531)] vvere ſome ſharp and quick ſentences; vvhich many of the ſparks could not vvell bear. They complained of his ſtrange terms, as they called them. Theſe Elyot compared to a galled horſe abiding no plaiſters, that vvere alvvays knapping and kicking at ſuch examples and ſentences as they felt ſharp, or did bite them.”

13. (UK, alt-of, dialectal, obsolete, transitive)Obsolete spelling of nap (“to arrest (someone); to grab or nab (someone or something); to steal (something); (obsolete) to receive (severe punishment), especially during a boxing match or a flogging; (generally) to receive (something)”).

    “Some entered the ring in very bad condition, and immediately got a-piping, like hot mutton pies—fell on their own blows, and knapped it every round, till they shewed the white feather and bolted.”

    “[T]o knap a clout, is to steal a pocket-handkerchief: to knap the swag from your pall, is to take from him the property he has just stolen, for the purpose of carrying it: to knap seven or fourteen pen'worth, is to receive sentence of transportation for seven or fourteen years: to knap the glim, is to catch the venereal disease: in making a bargain, to knap the sum offered you, is to accept it; […]”

noun

1. (dialectal)A sudden, sharp blow, knock, or slap; a rap, a whack.
2. (dialectal)The sound made by such a blow, knock, or slap.

   “Foot Stomp […] The sole of the attacker's foot covers the victim's foot without actually touching it. The sounds of the attacker's heel striking the floor creates the knap. The victim adds vocal and physical pain reactions.”

   “Pulling the punch straight back to its initial starting position, sometimes referred to as "snapping it back," is the most effective way of selling the straight punch. It tells the audience the punch was thrown, they hear a knap, and the victim is 'injured.' […] The knap sound, like all punches, is crucial to the effect of selling the punch, but the technique used to get the knap sound has to be well hidden.”

3. (dialectal)Synonym of chattering damsel (“a component of a traditional mill which creates a vibratory motion to impel portions of grain toward the millstone; a clapper”).
4. (figuratively, obsolete)A method of cheating at a dice game.

   “'Tis your pence a piece, / […] / Preſto begon? or come aloft? VVhat vvay? / Doublets? or Knap? The Cog? lovv Dice? or high?”

   “And fights vvith Money-bags as bold, / As men vvith Sand-bags did of old: / […] Engages blind and ſenſeleſs Hap / 'Gainſt High, and Lovv, and Slur and Knap, […]”

5. (UK, dialectal)A piece of raised ground or a short, steep slope; a small hill; a hillock, a knoll.

   “[Y]ou ſhall ſee many fine ſeats ſet upon a knap of ground, environed vvith higher hills round about it; […]”

   “Through the whole extent of the parish, a line of knaps can be distinctly traced. […] Almost every eminence seems to have had its knap. The use of these knaps cannot be mistaken. The uniform testimony of tradition, their local situation, and the quantity of ashes found in such of them as have been demolished, clearly point it out. They served as beacons, whereon fires were kindled, to indicate alarm, on the appearance of danger, or the approach of an enemy.”

   “"Now, where's the inn?" said Mountclere, yawning. "Just on the knap," Sol answered. "'Tis a little small place, and we must do as well as we can."”

6. (UK, dialectal)The crest or top of a hill.

   “the highest part and knap of the same Iland”

   “Hearke on knap of yonder hill / Some ſvveet ſhepheard tunes his quill, / And the maidens in a round / Sit (to heare him) on the ground.”

   “[…] Don Lucas […] thinkes in the darke morning to get the advantage of the hill-knap, and then to fall dovvne upon his enemie to be in his old Quarters. The hill top that Don Lucas thought to have gotten, vvas the ſame knap vvhich the Rhinegrave had before poſſeſſed himſelfe of: on the ſide of vvhich, Stolhanſhe vvas alſo lodged.”