• n. 细蜡烛，烛芯；逐渐变弱；锥形物
• vi. 逐渐减少；逐渐变弱
• vt. 逐渐减少；使成锥形

来自古英语 taper,灯芯，蜡烛，异化自拉丁语 papyrus,纸莎草，词源同 paper.因过去用纸莎草 芯做灯芯而引申该词义，后进一步引申词义锥形物，逐渐变细等。

taper

taper: [OE] Taper is ultimately the same word as paper. Both go bach to Latin papyrus ‘papyrus’. This was used among other things for a ‘candlewick made from papyrus’, and hence for a ‘candle’. It seems to have been borrowed in this sense into Old English as *papur, and by a process known as dissimilation (in which one of a pair of similar speech sounds is changed, so as to break up the pair) it became tapur. The verb taper ‘become narrower’, which emerged in the 16th century, is an allusion to the shape of the candle.
=> paper, papyrus

taper (n.)

Old English tapur, taper "candle, lamp-wick," not found outside English, possibly a dissimilated borrowing from Latin papyrus (see papyrus), which was used in Medieval Latin and some Romance languages for "wick of a candle" (such as Italian papijo "wick"), because these often were made from the pith of papyrus. Compare also German kerze "candle," from Old High German charza, from Latin charta, from Greek khartes "papyrus, roll made from papyrus, wick made from pith of papyrus."

taper (v.)

1580s, "shoot up like a flame or spire," via an obsolete adjective taper, from taper (n.), on the notion of the converging form of the flame of a candle. Sense of "become slender, gradually grow less in size, force, etc." first recorded c. 1600. Transitive sense from 1670s. Related: Tapered; tapering.

1. Taper the shape of your eyebrows towards the outer corners.

把你的眉毛修剪成越往外眼角越细的月牙形。

来自柯林斯例句

2. I suggested that we start to taper off the counseling sessions.

我建议我们开始缩短咨询服务的时间。

来自柯林斯例句

3. Immigration is expected to taper off.

估计移民会越来越少。

来自柯林斯例句

4. Unlike other trees, it doesn't taper very much. It stays fat all the way up.

和别的树不同，它不是越往上越细，而是上下一样粗。

来自柯林斯例句

5. If the charcoal does fail to light, use a special liquid spray and light it with a long taper.

要是木炭确实着不了的话，使用一种特殊的液体喷剂，再用长木片将其点燃。

来自柯林斯例句