▪ I. nep, n.1 Obs. exc. dial.
Also 5–7 neppe. β. 6–7 nepe. See also nip n.2
[var. of nept, ad. med.L. nepta, L. nepeta (Celsius and Pliny). Cf. Du. neppe.]
= catmint (Nepeta cataria), catnip.
| α c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 48 With persoley, sauge, ysope, saveray, A litel nep. 1486 Bk. St. Albans b vij b, Ye shall take an herbe that is called neppe. 1530 Palsgr. 247/2 Neppe, an herbe, herbe de chat. 1561 Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 18 He that hath a feruent cough, let him take Neppe, that cattes delite in. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 23 Wild Mint, Nep, Endiue, and Peniroial. 1648 Bp. Hall Select Th. §51 The dog when he is stomach-sick can go right to his proper grass; the cat to her nep. 1756 Watson in Phil. Trans. XLIX. 837 Nep, or Cat-mint. On dry banks about hedges. 1797 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 6/1 There are 14 species; the most remarkable is the cataria, common nep, or catmint. 1802 Ranken Hist. France II. iv. ii. 292 He treats of sage, rue,..ambrosia, nep, radish, the rose. |
| β 1548 Turner Names Herbs (E.D.S.) 22 The thyrde kynde is called in latin Nepeta, in english Nepe. 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Nebeda, nepes, Nepeta. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 307 Here grow also the Black Horehound, Spurge, Catminth or Nepe, Liverwort. |
▪ II. † nep, n.2 Obs.
Also 6 neppe.
[var. of neep, prob. through absence of stress in the comb., which is OE. (wildnǽp).]
wild nep, Bryony.
| c 1450 Alphita (Anecd. Oxon.) 5/2 Vitis alba, brionia idem. gall. navet, angl. wildnep. Ibid. 26/2 Brionia.., cucurbita agrestis..gall. brione uel naue sauuage, anglice wildenep. 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde R ij, Take..of wyld neppe dried the leues. 1597 J. King On Jonas (1618) 612 Some called it Bryonia, bryony or wilde nep. 1615 Markham Eng. Housew. ii. i. (1668) 32 The root of the wild Nep, which is like Woodbine. |
▪ III. nep, n.3 U.S.
[Of obscure origin.]
A small lump or knot upon cotton-fibres, either due to irregular growth or produced during such processes as ginning.
| 1881 J. Butterworth Cotton 23 When the saw-gin is run too quickly the tendency is to whip or string the Cotton, and thus produce neps. 1881 F. H. Bowman Structure of Cotton Fibre 27 In artificially produced neps the cluster consists of fragments of broken fibre while in the natural neps the short fibres are comparatively whole and unbroken. |
▪ IV. nep, v. U.S.
[Cf. nep n.3.]
trans. To form knots on (cotton-fibre), esp. during ginning.
| 1875 Ure's Dict. Arts I. 961 The rough teeth of the saws do not use the fibre gently enough, but cut and ‘nep’ or knot it. |
▪ V. nep
variant of nap n.1 cup. Obs.
▪ VI. nep
obs. variant of neap a.