▪ I. rap, n.1
(ræp)
Forms: 4–6 rappe, (8 wrap), 6– rap.
[Prob. of echoic origin (cf. clap, flap, slap, wap), appearing in the 14th c. together with the related verb (rap v.1). Da. rap, Sw. rapp agree in meaning, but there is no evidence of primitive Scand. origin.]
I. 1. a. A blow or stroke, esp. one inflicted on a person. Orig. applied to severe blows with weapons, etc., now restricted to a sharp or smart stroke with a stick or the like, not causing serious hurt.
| 1340–70 Alisaunder 348 To riden into the route rappes to deale. a 1400 Octouian 334 To the ape anoon he gert Well many rappys. c 1460 Emare 660 The wawes..On the bote faste they thronge, With mony unsemely rappes. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. V 14 b, He clapped hys fyste on the borde a great rappe. 1549–62 Sternhold & H. Ps. lxxiv. 11 Lord..be not slacke, to geue thy foes a rap. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 571 Paris caught a rap vpon the mouth with a marble stone. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 260 ¶5 She pulled off her Shoe, and hit me with the Heel such a Rap. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 56 The boys, and the audience in general, were kept in order by raps of a stick. |
b. A sharp and pretty loud knock, such as is produced by striking on a wooden surface with something hard; esp. a knock at a door, or (in recent use) one supposed to be made by a spirit.
| 1637 Rutherford Lett. lxxxviii. (1862) I. 227 His first knock or rap at the door. 1727 Swift Further Acc. E. Curll Wks. 1755 III. i. 156, I hear the rap of Mr. Curll's ivory-headed cane upon the counter. 1785 S. Fielding Ophelia I. xvii, The peculiarity of a footman's rap startled me. 1853 Spirit Rappings 4 ‘Hush!’ she exclaims, ‘I think I hear a rap.’ The spirit-seeker stretches his neck and intently listens, and a sound like the dripping of water is distinctly heard. 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit., Success Wks. (Bohn) III. 119, I hate this shallow Americanism which hopes to get..knowledge by raps on midnight tables. |
† 2. = crack n.3 Obs.
| c 1500 Mery geste Frere & Boye 119 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 66, I wolde she sholde let a rappe go, That myght rynge ouer all the place. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiii. (Arb.) 274 Flamock hauing his belly full..gaue out a rappe nothing faintly. |
3. Sc. A moment. Cf. clap n.1 7.
| 1768 Ross Helenore iii. 112 Honest Jean brang forward in a rap Green horn cutties. 1813– in Eng. Dial. Dict. |
II. transf.
4. a. A rebuke; an adverse criticism.
| 1777 in Amer. Pioneer (Cincinnati) (1843) Jan. 17 The post master general..has lately had a rap, which I hope will have a good effect. 1803 P. Canvas (title) A rap for the P.R.A., or three words to Mr. West on his late attempt to pass off an old lady of 76 for a beauty of eighteen hundred and three. 1932 ‘A. Rolls’ Lobelia Grove x. 227 It's up to us to keep a damn sharp look-out, my boy... We've had a bit of a rap over it, between you and me. 1976 Cumberland News 3 Dec. 16/9 A top Carlisle haulage firm got a council room rap yesterday for jumping the gun over planning. 1977 National Observer (U.S.) 22 Jan. 16/7 ‘Mr Fixit’ is coming to town, and that is no rap on Jimmy Carter. More than anything else, the American people want government to work. |
b. A criminal accusation, charge. Freq. in phr. bum rap, a false charge, an undeserved punishment (cf. bum a.); also fig. slang (chiefly U.S.).
| 1903 H. Hapgood Autobiogr. of Thief (1904) xii. 265 ‘What makes you look so glum?’..‘Turned out of police court this morning.’ ‘What was the rap, Mike?’ ‘I'm looking too respectable. They asked me where I got the clothes.’ 1910 New England Mag. July 587 A complaint or charge of crime is a ‘rap’ and the complainant is the ‘rapper’. 1926 J. Black You can't Win (1927) xii. 165 We've got two tough raps... In the first place a hypo ain't supposed to be found within a block of police headquarters... In the second place, a hypo ain't allowed to leave Chinatown. 1927 Clark & Eubank Lockstep & Corridor vii. 45 Edgar is now..in prison for what I honestly believe is a bum rap. 1930 Sat. Even. Post 26 July 145/1 We ran into a funny rap out there, kid. On some fool income-tax trick, they locked up seven of my best men. 1936 J. Curtis Gilt Kid 229 There was no burglary rap because the offices had not been inhabited. 1946 ‘P. Quentin’ Puzzle for Fiends xxv. 239, I couldn't..leave them to face the rap for three murders they hadn't committed. 1970 R. D. Abrahams Positively Black iii. 79, I was standing on the corner, wasn't even shooting crap, When a policeman came by, picked me up on a lame rap. 1978 S. Brill Teamsters i. 21 The 1961 kidnap-murder rap would move toward trial. 1980 Outdoor Life (U.S.) (Northeast ed.) Oct. 138/1 Two years ago a local chapter of the National Rifle Association hung a bum rap on Udall as ‘likely to vote for gun registration’. |
c. An identification (see quot. 1926). Criminals' slang.
| 1914 Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 68 Rap,..an identification; a charge of guilt. 1926 N.Y. Times 30 May 2/3 In order to understand the news of the day the innocent must..familiarize themselves with new words from the bright lexicon of crime. The newest is ‘rap’, meaning identification. When one is singled out from a line of suspects as the dip who slid the ticktick, one is the victim of a ‘rap’. |
d. A prison sentence. slang (chiefly U.S.).
| 1927 Amer. Speech II. 281/1 Rap, sentence imposed by law. 1935 ‘E. Queen’ Spanish Cape Mystery xiv. 300 You're in a tough spot. Do you know what the rap for blackmail is in this State? 1956 B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) xii. 108, I might explain the first rap was a freak accident. But the second was tougher. |
e. Phrases: to beat the rap (chiefly U.S.), to escape punishment, esp. a prison sentence; to get the rap, to suffer a rebuke or scolding; to receive the blame; to hang (pin, tie) the rap on, to charge (a suspect), showing (occas. dishonestly) that circumstantial evidence is incontrovertible; to take the rap, to accept responsibility and the consequent punishment (orig. for a crime).
| 1865 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 297/2 He who has the bad taste to meddle with the caprices of believers..gets the rap and the orders of dismissal. 1927 Clark & Eubank Lockstep & Corridor vii. 42, I told him that the only way for his brother to beat the ‘rap’ was to..furnish bond and beat it. 1930 E. H. Larine Third Degree ii. 17 Good, honest cops will often take a ‘rap’ or complaint,..rather than..testify against a fellow cop. 1932 ‘Spindrift’ Yankee Slang 58 Pin the rap on him and make it ‘stick’. 1936 J. Curtis Gilt Kid xxvi. 265 You're not going to hang a bum rap on me. 1943 P. Cheyney You can always Duck iv. 75 You can't hang any murder rap on me. 1952 Chambers's Jrnl. May 309/1 Groteman was quite calm. ‘Arresting me? Nonsense! In any case, what about you? Do you think I would leave you here to take the rap? I wouldn't do that, Rudolf.’ 1953 W. Burroughs Junkie viii. 78 At the time, he was out on bail, but expected to beat the rap on the grounds of illegal seizure. 1962 Wodehouse Service with Smile vi. 88 Keep saying ‘Is zat so?’..confident that she can never pin the rap on you. 1965 H. Gold Man who was not with It xxvi. 245 How do I know the fuzz aren't waiting back here to tie on a rap for Aiding and Abetting? 1969 J. McPherson Hue & Cry 56 Damn if I'm takin' the rap for you niggers. 1970 N. Fleming Czech Point ii. 39 He could have pinned that rap on the Australian girl in the PVC outfit any day he cared. 1972 ‘H. Howard’ Nice Day for Funeral iii. 51 Suppose somebody gets the rap for killing Frankie? What good will that do her? 1978 S. Brill Teamsters iv. 143 He thought Sammy Provenzano had made a deal with Briguglio to get him to take the rap. 1978 M. Puzo Fools Die xx. 226, I even felt that Frank might beat the rap. |
5. a. Conversation, talk, chat. dial.
| 1898 R. Blakeborough Wit N. Riding Yorks. 433 Lets 'ev a pipe an' a bit o' rap. |
b. Among American Blacks, a special style of verbal display, repartee, etc. (see quot. 1967). More generally, impromptu dialogue, talk, or discussion. colloq. Cf. rap v.1 3 d.
| 1967 J. Horton in Trans-Action Apr. 6/1 Sometimes used synonymously with street conversation, ‘rap’ is really a special way of talking—repartee... For example, one needs to throw a lively rap when he is ‘putting the make on a broad’. 1970 D. Lee We walk Way of New World 52 The national rap deliberately continues, ‘wipe them niggers out’. 1970 New Yorker 8 Aug. 36/1 Around Jane Fonda you may call it a rap, but here it's still called a powwow. 1971 Black Scholar Jan. 17/2 The indigenous, enduring black folk rap, then, is populated with witches, tyrants, befrienders of young children, the strong, the stoic, the quick-witted. 1972 Last Whole Earth Catalog (Portola Inst.) 183/3 Ordinarily the talk about their Uncle Emmit would have led D.R. and Marcella on into a general rap about other relatives. 1973 S. Henderson Understanding New Black Poetry p. xi, An extension of this is the emergence over the past few years of the ‘rap’ as an authentic Black literary form. 1974 Black World Sept. 55/2 The percussion group introduces Roach's rap, whose text is ministerial on ‘the power of love’. 1974 H. L. Foster Ribbin' ii. 51 George is sitting on the steps in the school running a strong rap with a number of girls. 1975 Time Out 7 Feb 43/2 Although their rap between songs seems more suited to a family variety show it can at least be excused as ‘professionalism’. 1976 New Musical Express 31 July 6/4 Five minutes into the rap and the singer who replaced Ian Gillan three years ago seems prepared to reveal a damn sight more than one of the original members. 1977 Zigzag Apr. 46/1 ‘Dum Dum Boys’ opens with a ‘whatever happened to me mates’ rap. 1978 Amer. Poetry Rev. July/Aug. 44/3 Each section of the book..is an interlude, a rap, a seeming improvisation on some aspect of the blues. 1978 Verbatim Feb. 10/1 Each sees Black English as richly metaphoric and imagistic, its speakers adept at creative compounds and the double entendre, frequently extraordinarily skilled in traditional verbal battles and games which are integral to their world, a world in which the baddest dude is often the one with the best rap. (A word..whose meaning in Black English differs from the meaning it took on when assimilated into White English.) |
6. A commendation, ‘boost’. Austral. colloq.
| 1939 K. Tennant Foveaux ii. iv. 176 Everyone wants to be seen with a high-up feller. When I pass the time of day to a cove he feels that's a rap for him, see? 1973 K. Dunstan Sports 229 And if someone does something good, takes a good mark, give him a rap. Tell him. |
7. attrib. and Comb. (chiefly U.S. colloq.), as (sense 4 d) rap partner; rap centre, the meeting-place of a rap group; rap club, a club that ostensibly provides companionship and conversation but is really a brothel; rap group, a group that meets to discuss problems; rap parlour = rap club; rap session, a group discussion; rap sheet, a police record.
| 1973 Tucson (Arizona) Daily Citizen 22 Aug. 28/1 Those turned off by rap centers, afraid of encounter groups and frightened to death by pillows-on-the-floor revelations may be seeking someone to listen to them. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 16 Oct., The committee decided we needed a sort of rap center for teenagers with the exhibit, and we wanted to do something that would be appealing to them. |
| 1973 N.Y. Post 22 June 7 In the face of a crackdown on street prostitution many of the girls..are taking shelter in ‘rap clubs’—which have replaced massage parlors in the sex-for-sale world. |
| 1970 Time 30 Aug. 18 The heart of the [women's liberation] movement is made up of hundreds of ‘rap groups’, usually formed on an ad hoc basis. 1971 N.Y. Times 12 June 28 The New York chapter of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War instituted weekly ‘rap groups’ where men meet and talk about their experiences and feelings. 1972 Listener 31 Aug. 270/1 We created..a kind of anti-war community consisting of veterans and professionals. To avoid clinical terminology, we called the programme we established ‘rap groups’ rather than ‘therapy groups’. 1978 Chicago June 82/3 Women's center—for lesbians and other women... Rap-group organizing, info on pregnancy testing, birth control etc. |
| 1975 N.Y. Times 4 Oct. 1/8 ‘Rap’ parlors, ‘sensitivity training’ centers and other establishments that use imaginative covers for illicit sex other than the pretense of being a massage parlor would not be affected by the measure. |
| 1971 Black Scholar Sept. 37/1 He thought about..the four rap partners he had on his last beef. |
| 1970 Time 24 Aug. 12 In every major city, women, most of them young, gather for ‘consciousness-raising’ rap sessions, the awareness rituals of The Sisterhood. 1973 Publishers Weekly 18 June 9 (Advt.), Secret tapings of rap sessions where seven suburban wives tell with startling candor of their search for personal identity. 1974 Greenville (S. Carolina) News 23 Apr. 16/1 Special-interest rap sessions will be conducted by Campus Scouts from Furman University. 1976 Sunday Times (Lagos) 3 Oct. 13/2, I drive straight to the NBC studios for a recording of my rap session on the weekly programme for youths. 1977 Times Lit. Suppl. 18 Feb. 179/2 For years Americans have been participating in rap sessions and consciousness-raising groups. 1980 Underground Grammarian Mar., The ensuing rap session will be quite long enough to provide yet another day's respite from the tedious and dehumanizing study of language and thought. |
| 1960 Washington Post 3 Dec. a3 You will not find violence on his rap sheet. 1976 G. V. Higgins Judgement D. Hunter xvi. 179 He was convicted... Two charges..were dismissed, but remained on his rap sheet as having been brought. |
Add: [5.] c. A style of popular music (developed by New York Blacks in the 1970s) in which words (usu. improvised) are spoken rhythmically and often in rhyming sentences over an instrumental backing; a song or piece in this style. Cf. *rap v.1 3 e. orig. U.S.
| 1979 Village Voice (N.Y.) 3 Dec. 86/2 This meeting of the bullshitters is more groove than rap. 1982 Face May 57/2 There is even a Rap single of ‘Mama’ available. 1983 N.Y. Times 18 May c19/5 Rap, the streetwise, intensely rhythmic pop sound that has come roaring out of Harlem, Brooklyn and the South Bronx..is entering a second critical phase in its evolution. 1987 Sounds 30 May 14/3 Later, while attending New York University, Rubin moved closer to the rap scene. At hangouts like Negril and the Roxy, he met all the right people in the rap movement. 1988 Tower Records' Top Feb. 7/5 Cartel distributors, Revolver, have great hopes for the..hip-hop EP..consisting of ‘Anyone’, ‘The Dark’ and 2 raps. |
[7.] rap group, (b) a group which plays rap music.
| 1980 Washington Post 31 Aug. g2/5 That's the kind of popularity that got [Kurtis] Blow booked into the Capital Centre last night, along with another rap group, the Sugarhill Gang. 1987 New Musical Express 9 May 30/3 But when he realised that black classmates were listening to a different rap group each week he decided that rap was much more progressive than rock 'n' roll. |
rap music = sense *5 c above.
| 1982 N. H. & S. K. Mager Morrow Bk. New Words 218/2 *Rap music,..personal lyrics sung with no melody in a syncopated beat. 1987 Times 13 Nov. 21/6 Rap music is said to have come from the black ghettos of New York. |
▪ II. rap, n.2
(ræp)
[Of obscure origin; there is no evidence of connexion with G. rappe, the name of a small coin.]
1. a. A counterfeit coin, worth about half a farthing, which passed current for a halfpenny in Ireland in the 18th c., owing to the scarcity of genuine money. Now only Hist.
| 1724 Swift Drapier's Lett. Wks. 1755 V. ii. 14 Copper halfpence or farthings..have been for some time very scarce, and many counterfeits passed about under the name of raps. 1776 R. Twiss Tour Irel. 73 The beggars..offering a bad halfpenny, which they call a rap. 1827 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 182 Ane o' the bawbees o' an obsolete sort..what they ca' an Eerish rap. |
b. Taken as a type of the smallest coin; chiefly in negative phrases, esp. without or not a rap.
| 1823 Byron Juan xi. lxxxiv, I have seen the Landholders without a rap. 1830 Marryat King's Own xxxv, ‘You must fork out’. ‘Not a rap’. 1881 M. E. Braddon Asph. xiv. 158 A man who dies and leaves not a rap behind him. |
c. fig. An atom, the least bit. Chiefly as prec., and esp. not to care a rap.
| 1834 Ainsworth Rookwood iii. v, For the mare-with-three-legs [the gallows], boys, I care not a rap. 1875 Punch 18 Sept. 113/2 It don't matter a rap whether it's rough or fine. 1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal III. iv. 79 If I thought you cared a rap for me, I should stay. |
2. rap halfpenny: A bad halfpenny.
| 1864 Blackw. Mag. Oct. 392 It is not of very great moment to me that I am now and then imposed on by a ‘rap halfpenny’. 1878 in Cumbld. Gloss. |
3. transf. A worthless person, rascal, good-for-nothing.
| 1771 R. Cumberland Let. 4 July in D. Garrick Private Corr. (1831) I. 426 Assisted by a jury of printers, compilers, devils, hawkers, and raps of all sorts. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xix. 168 What do you mean, you rap?—do you intend to say I'm drunk? 1949 M. Molloy King & Friday's Men in Plays of Year 1949 (1950) 400 (Murty drags her violently across the room and flings her on to the sofa.) Murty (savage and scared): Biddy, watch over this rap. |
▪ III. rap, n.3 Now dial.
(ræp)
[f. rap v.4]
An exchange (esp. of horses).
| 1755 T. H. Croker Ariosto xxx. v, I, for your nag, incline To make a rap of this same mare of mine. 1886 in dial. glossaries (Linc., Som.). |
▪ IV. rap, n.4
(ræp)
[Of obscure origin.]
A skein containing 120 yards of yarn.
| 1776–7 Act 17 Geo. III, c. 11 §11 Every..hank of..yarn shall..contain seven raps or leas, and..every such rap or lea shall..contain eighty threads. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. |
▪ V. rap, n.5
(ræp)
Now dial.
[Of obscure origin.]
A strip, esp. of land.
| 1710 Lond. Gaz. No. 4714/4 A Rapp of Ground ranging along from the Mills. 1886–93 in south-western dial. glossaries (Som., Wilts). |
▪ VI. rap, v.1
(ræp)
Also 4–6 rappe, (7 wrap).
[Related to rap n.1; cf. also frap vb. and G. rappeln to rattle. Sw. rappa to beat, drub, is of obscure history.]
1. a. trans. To strike, smite (esp. a person); now, to strike smartly without causing serious hurt (cf. rap n.1 1). Also absol.
| 1377 Langland P. Pl. B. i. 95 Kynges & kniȝtes shulde..Riden and rappe down in reumes aboute. c 1400 Destr. Troy 13007 All the Rebellis full rad [he] rappit to dethe. c 1490 Promp. Parv. 423/2 (MS. H) Rappyn, or smytyn, percucio. 1530 Palsgr. 679/1, I shall rappe you on the costarde if you playe the knave. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. I. 13/2 It [a toad] suddenlie reculed backe, as though it had beene rapt in the head. 1600 Holland Livy xxxiv. xv. 863 If he espied any one to step out of his rank, he would..rap him with his light javelin. 1676 Hobbes Iliad 175 So thick they did the Trojan armours rap. 1873 Ouida Pascarel I. iii. 34 Fortunato could rap both feet and hands sharply enough with his bow. |
b. Phr. to rap (one's) fingers or knuckles, to check or punish smartly.
| a 1677 Barrow Serm. Wks. 1716 I. 219 He that will have a scickle in another's corn,..no wonder if his fingers be rapped. 1681 J. Flavel Right. Man's Refuge 257 Every objection with which he will rap thy fingers. 1759 [see knuckle n. 2 b]. 1824 De Quincey Falsif. Eng. Hist. Wks. 1859 XII. 327 If that bishop were not dead, I would here take the liberty of rapping his knuckles. |
c. To charge, prosecute; to apprehend with a view to prosecution. slang.
| 1904 ‘No. 1500’ Life in Sing Sing 252/1 Rap,..to prosecute. 1960 ‘M. Cronin’ Begin with Gun viii. 93 If I [sc. a policeman] hear that Kehely has been getting in our way..I'll have to rap him. |
d. To criticize adversely; to rebuke; to mention unfavourably. orig. U.S.
| 1906 N.Y. Even. Post 23 Nov. 5 Football was sharply rapped and rowing was highly praised by President Eliot in his address. 1926 J. Kerney Political Educ. Woodrow Wilson 105 In screamer headlines the conference was rapped as a secret and reprehensible thing. 1967 Boston Globe 20 May 2/2 (heading) Teachers rapped for failure to understand their pupils. 1973 Trinidad & Tobago Overseas Express 28 May 21/3 (heading) Bar body raps Sir Hugh for attack. 1976 Abingdon Herald 9 Dec. 5/2 (heading) Parties united to rap county. |
2. To drive, dash, knock, etc. with a rap. Const. against, in, on, † to. orig. chiefly Sc.
| a 1400 Octouian 1439 In the stedes mouth he rapte An huge brydel. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 423/2 Rappyn', or smytyn' a thynge a-ȝen' a-noþer, collido, allido. 1539 Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 161 Thai..tuk him be the hair and rappit his heid to the wall. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. x. 367 A great ship..quhilk albeit rapit on a craig chaipet safe. 1838 Rodger Poems 46 Ilk thing against whilk my head I might rap. 1861 Geo. Eliot Silas M. i. iv. 69 Dunstan, as he went along..was always rapping his whip somewhere. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 15 Jan. 19/6 Keon rapped in Mahovlich's rebound to make it 5–0 and Oliver tipped in Hillman's slap shot during a power play to complete the scoring. |
3. † a. Sc. To send forth with a clap. rare—1.
| 1513 Douglas æneis iii. iii. 96 The brokin skyis rappis furth thunderis levin. |
b. Usually with out: to utter, ‘let off’ (esp. an oath) sharply, vigorously, or suddenly. Also in weakened sense: to say, talk.
| 1541 Wyatt Defence 267, I am wont sometime to rap out on oath in an earnest talk. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xxvii. ii. 305 In bragging wise rapping out nothing but vaine sounds and noyses of threats. 1635 Quarles Embl. i. x. 41 One raps an oath; another deales a curse. 1742 Fielding J. Andrews iii. ii, Adams then rapped out a hundred Greek verses. 1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 208 note, My orator raps out a pun. 1879 Macm. Mag. Oct. 501 A reeler came up to me and rapped (said), ‘Now—you had better guy,..or else I shall give you a drag (three months in prison).’ 1880 Browning Clive 203 Out he rapped Such a round of oaths. 1887 J. W. Horsley Jottings from Jail i. 7 So I said, ‘All right,’ but he rapped, ‘It is not all right.’ 1929 Sat. Even. Post 12 Jan. 72/3 ‘Remember now, don't rap anything to Swinnerton.’..‘I'm not goin' to talk,’ Barr answered. 1951 M. McLuhan Mech. Bride (1967) 60/2 An indignant girl who raps out, ‘You've had it!’ 1975 High Times Dec. 22/3 All those veteran comedians..used to rap about the drunk. 1976 K. Royce Bustillo xv. 215 ‘Bustillo still has to get out,’ rapped Susumu mildly. 1977 C. McCullough Thorn Birds ii. 31 That dry old voice rapped a curt question at her. |
† c. slang. To swear (a thing) against a person. Also intr. To swear; to perjure oneself. Obs.
| 1733 Budgell Bee I. 207 He ask'd me what they had to rap against me, I told him only a Tankard. Ibid. 213 We will get them that will rap the Tankard was your grandmother's. 1752 Fielding Amelia ii. x, I scorn to rap against a lady. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xx, It's..hard, when three words of your mouth would give the girl the chance.., that you make sure scrupling about rapping to them. |
d. intr. In more informal contexts than sense 3 b: to talk or chat in an easy or discursive manner. Freq. const. with. colloq. (chiefly U.S.). Cf. rap n.1 5 b.
| 1929 D. Runyon in Hearst's Internat. Oct. 65/2, I wish Moosh a hello, and he never raps to me but only bows, and takes my hat. 1965 E. Cleaver Let. 19 Sept. in Soul on Ice (1968) i. 46 In point of fact he is funny and very glib, and I dig rapping (talking) with him. 1967 Time 7 July 17/1 Hirsute, shoeless hippies huddled in doorways, smoking pot, ‘rapping’ (achieving rapport with random talk), or banging beer cans. 1968 Negro Digest Jan. 4/2 Karenga is a spokesman..with the power to rap in a manner thoroughly black. 1971 P. Kavanagh Triumph of Evil iv. 35 It really helped me to talk to you, Miles. You're the only older person I know that I can rap with. 1973 S. Henderson Understanding New Black Poetry 26 The younger poet will usually rap or declaim or sing, but if he wants to create a Black character..he usually turns to drama or the short story. 1975 Times Lit. Suppl. 13 June 675/2 Eavesdropping on..Ishmael Reed when he raps along quite disingenuously about a press dominated by white reviewers. 1978 Detroit Free Press 16 Apr. f6/4 Can you rap with students? 1979 Tucson (Arizona) Citizen 20 Sept. 7a/1 Obviously relishing the opportunity to rap with what Jordan called the ‘press biggies from out of town’. 1979 Quarto Oct. 3/3 Like a good investigative journalist, Wolfe has raided official sources and rapped with those in the know. 1980 Oxford Times 4 Jan. 15/2 She ‘raps’ (i.e. talks) in the intimate style of Millie Jackson. |
4. a. intr. To knock sharply (esp. at a door).
| c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. iii. 312 Þer nedyth þe noght neyther ryng ne rap, The gate shal open lightly. 1470 Harding Chron. iii. lxxvi, Doores and wyndowes al clapped..Opened and sparred al by theim selfs fast rapped. a 1510 Douglas K. Hart ii. 13 He rappit at the ȝet, but courtaslie. 1613 Hayward Norm. Kings 15 Here he continued rapping at the gate..vntill it was opened. 1750 Gray Long Story 55 The heroines..Rap'd at the door nor stay'd to ask [etc.]. 1860 All Year Round No. 66. 372 The spirits only rapped when the younger medium was present. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset II. xlv. 6 One morning..the squire rapped at the window of the drawing-room. 1950 [see crystal-gaze vb. s.v. crystal n. and a. B. 2 c]. 1972 S. Chance Septimus & Minster Ghost (1974) vii. 72 He went into a trance and rapped away like mad. |
b. trans. To strike with a rap; to rap at or on.
| 1712–14 Pope Rape Lock iv. 130 He spoke, and rapp'd his box. 1718 Prior Dove 33 With one great peal they rap the door, Like footmen on a visiting day. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 292 He notes it in his book, then raps his box. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. v, Sharply rapping the table. |
c. trans. to rap out, to knock out; also (esp. of spirits), to declare by means of raps.
| 1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk II. 192 All three rapped the unconsumed tobacco out of their pipes. 1860 All Year Round No. 66. 373 The spirits rapped out their dismissal, and the séance was at an end. |
5. intr. Sc. a. To fall sharply or smartly; to fall in pattering drops.
| 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 195 The schour of arowis rappit on as rayn. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 69 The dartis..rappit on sa rudlie with greit reird. 1768 Ross Helenore i. 64 By this time the tears came rapping down. 1819 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 34 Tears rappit down the dreamer's cheeks. |
b. To go off with a sharp sound.
| 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxxvi, The pistols and the carabines of the troopers..rappit aff the tane after the tother. |
Hence rapped (ræpt), ppl. a.; also rapped-out.
| 1899 A. Hope King's Mirror xxviii. 308 The little girl's bare, red, rapped knuckles. 1906 Daily Chron. 7 June 6/1 There was certainly nothing theatrical about the sound, stately, straight-backed, rapped-out rowing of those Eton eights. |
Add: [3.] e. To perform rap music; to talk or sing in the style of rap. Cf. *rap n.1 5 c. orig. U.S.
| 1980 Washington Post 31 Aug. g2/5 ‘We threw down most violently on it,’ Jackson says, meaning that they rapped over the music. 1983 N.Y. Times 14 Aug. xxii. 2/6 Thomas Fidos is not with Sound Masters, but, as a member of another group, he raps under the name of Mr. T. 1984 Wall St. Jrnl. 4 Dec. 16 (heading) If folks are clappin' and things Start to happen, the man is rappin'. 1987 Daily Tel. 6 Aug. 10/7 ‘I don't rap in an American accent.’..He raps in Cockney or Caribbean English. |
▪ VII. † rap, v.2 Obs.
In 5 rappe.
[App. related to G. dial. rappen (Da. rappe, Sw. rappa), used reflexively in the sense ‘to make haste, hurry’; cf. (M)LG., Du., Sw. rap, rapp quick.]
1. intr. To move with speed; to hasten, rush.
| 13.. Coer de L. 2206 All that he hit he all to-frapped; The Griffons away fast rapped. c 1320 Sir Beues (MS. A) 1900 Beues is swerd anon vp swapte, He and þe geaunt togedre rapte. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 23 Resun with him rideþ rappynge swiþe. c 1420 Filius Regis Mortuus est 45 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 206 Þe clawdes gan clappe, The elements gonne to rusche & rappe. |
2. trans. To hurry or huddle up. rare—1.
| 1450–1530 Myrroure our Ladye 55 They rappe vp theyr seruyce as faste as they can, for haste to be at their worke. |
▪ VIII. rap, v.3 Now rare.
(ræp)
Also 6–7 rappe, 7 rapp.
[In sense 1 perh. related to MLG. (and G.) rappen (Sw. rappa) to seize, snatch; but in 2 app. a back-formation from rapt pa. pple.]
† 1. trans. To seize or snatch for oneself; to take or get by snatching or stealing. Obs.
| 1564 Grindal Funeral Serm. B j, I knew a Priest, who had rapped together foure, or fiue benefices. 1581 Marbeck Bk. of Notes 402 Thinges which are founde must be restored. Which thing if thou doe not, thou hast rapt them. 1689 T. R. View Govt. Europe 2 Their work was by hook and crook, to rap and bring all under the Emperours power. a 1754 Fielding Voy. Lisbon Wks. 1784 X. 246 Every man spunges and raps whatever he can get. |
b. In alliterative phrases, esp. rap and rend (common in 16–17th c.). Now arch. or dial. Cf. rape v.2 1 b.
| 1528 Roy Rede me, etc. (Arb.) 74 Acustumed to rappe and rende All that commeth in their fingrynge. 1570 Foxe A. & M. 983 Thinke you..they will not plucke from you what soeuer They can rappe or reue? 1678 Marvell Growth Popery 23 Contributing all that we could rap and rend of Men, or Amunition. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull iv. ii, An Eating-house, where the whole Tribe of them spend all they can rap or run. 1842 Barham Ingol. Leg., St. Aloys, From foe and from friend He'd ‘rap and he'd rend’. 1872 Browning Fifine Epil. iv, Let them.. Make and mend, or rap and rend, for me! 1877 Leigh Cheshire Gloss., Rap and ring, scrape together. 1877 N.W. Linc. Gloss., Rap and rear, to gather together by any means. |
† c. intr. To snatch at. Obs. rare—1.
| 1669 W. Simpson Hydrol. Chym. 209 Through a confident ignorance, he rapps at the prediction, and at a venture. |
2. a. To take up and carry off, to transport, remove. Now rare.
| 1599 Warn. Faire Wom. i. 41 To rack a thought,..Until I rap the senses from their course. 1613 Heywood Silver Age ii. i. Wks. 1874 III. 110 With my sudden greeting, Il'e rap her soule to heauen. 1654 H. L'Estrange Chas. I (1655) 90 He was rapp'd and hurried into another world by an abrupt and untimely death. 1771 Wesley Wks. (1872) V. 351 God is pleased..sometimes to rap them up, as it were, into the third heavens. 1872 S. Morton in Mem. Tennyson (1897) II. 119 The burning impressions..which rap the poet into the lyrical heaven. |
b. To affect with rapture; to transport, ravish (with joy, etc.).
| 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. i. i, Is't a prognostication raps him so? 1685 R. Baxter Paraphr. N.T., Matt. xvii. 4 A glympse of glory is enough to rap a Soul into extasie. 1726 Pope Odyss. xix. 43 The Prince..rap'd with ecstacy the Sire address'd. 1751 Young Nt. Th. ix. 774 God..seizes man; Seizes, and elevates, and raps. |
▪ IX. rap, v.4 dial. and slang.
(ræp)
[Of obscure origin; cf. rap n.3]
To exchange, barter.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Rap, to Swop or Exchange a Horse or Goods. a 1796 Pegge Derbicisms Ser. ii, Rap, to swap, with which it is often joined; to exchange. 1879– in dial. glossaries (Shropsh., Chesh., Glouc., W. Som., Dorset, Warwicksh., E. Angl.). |
▪ X. rap
obs. pa. tense reap v., obs. f. rope n., wrap n. and v.
▪ XI. rap
used imitatively: see rap n.1 and v.1
| 1760 Goldsm. Cit. W. xxxix, Rap, went the footman at the door, bounce went my heart. 1833–74 [see rap-tap]. 1889 P. McNeill Blawearie 165 Eighteen hutches of coal were winded rap dash to the pithead. |