trap - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Leghold trap

From Middle English trappe, from Old English træppe, treppe (“trap, snare”) (also in betræppan (“to trap”)) from Proto-West Germanic *trappjā (“trap, snare”), from Proto-West Germanic *trappjan (“to step”), from Proto-Germanic *trapjaną (“to tread, stamp”), from Proto-Indo-European *drebʰ- (“to step, trip, trample”).

Cognate with Dutch trap (“step, stair”), German Low German Trapp (“step, stair”). Akin also to West Frisian traap (“stepping, treading, stairway”), German Treppe (“step, stair”), Old English træppan (“to step, tread”). Connection to "step" is "that upon which one steps". French trappe and Spanish trampa are ultimately borrowings from Germanic.

trap (countable and uncountable, plural traps)

  1. A machine or other device designed to catch (and sometimes kill) animals, either by holding them in a container, or by catching hold of part of the body.
    Synonyms: snare, fang (obsolete)
    I put down some traps in my apartment to try and deal with the mouse problem.
    • 1995, Richard Rhodes, quoting Curtis LeMay, “Scorpions in a Bottle”, in Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb‎[1], New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 574:
      The Russian bear has always been eager to stick his paw in Latin American waters. Now we've got him in a trap, let's take his leg off right up to his testicles. On second thought, let's take off his testicles, too.
  2. A trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense; a snare.
    Unfortunately she fell into the trap of confusing biology with destiny.
    1. (by extension, cartography, law, technical) A (usually fictional) location or feature originally added to a map to detect plagiarism and copyright violations by other map makers or map services.
      trap street
    2. (slang, informal, usually offensive, sometimes derogatory) Someone with male-typical anatomy who passes as female.
      • 2011 May 27, “Re: anons target US chamber”, in alt.2600‎[2] (Usenet):
        And trust me you don't want to see a trap ether. I like my girls without a ding-a-ling.
      • 2020, jaye simpson, it was never going to be okay, Harbour Publishing, →ISBN:
        man says he isn't a fag when asking
        to masturbate with my body. positions
        himself as conqueror, calls my body
        trick,
        trap,
        tranny.
        man fucks witch
        embarrassed by his own release […]
      • 2021, Coulsdon Writers, Back to the Writing, →ISBN, page 37:
        “My son is a tranny.” “No, mother dear, I'm a Trap. There is a difference. You should have knocked before you came in.” 'Trap'? For all she knew about terms for cross-dressers he could have said he was a splurge monkey or yiff jumper and it would have meant the same. […] "Now I'm Poppy. I'm a boy who's androgynous enough to be confused as a girl[.]"
      • (Can we date this quote?), Klei Nightwriter, The Book of Voltaire: The Complete Bundle (Season 1) 3rd Edition REVISED, Klei Nightwriter
        I love femboys better than trannies, traps are better than futa anyway. We conversed and we started to get close. I chose her. So, she told me to sit down so she can cut my hair. "I want to dye my hair; how much is that?"
      • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:trap.
    3. (slang, informal, sometimes considered offensive) A fictional character from anime, or related media, who is coded as or has qualities typically associated with a gender other than the character's ostensible gender; otokonoko, josou.
      • 2007 Weekend Reading: Bridget is straight by 8bit Brian of Destructoid, reply by batempo on 20 August 2007
        Bridget is the super trap
      • 2010 July 20, Antonio E. Gonzalez, “Re:Moyashimon Live Action”, in rec.arts.anime.misc‎[3] (Usenet):
        Of course Kei would look like a young woman, that's how traps work!
      • 2013 September 7, Bobbie Sellers, “Re: What's your favouite anime?”, in rec.arts.manga‎[4] (Usenet):
        I saw Episode 10 of the anime today. When it explains about the **trap'**s problems in HS it was much clearer than the same section of the manga.
      • 2013, One Piece: Grand Line 3 Point 5, page 47‎[5]:
        One way to spot a trap is to look for an adam's apple.
  3. (computing) An exception generated by the processor or by an external event.
  4. Any device used to hold and suddenly release an object.
    They shot out of the school gates like greyhounds out of the trap.
    1. A covering over a hole or opening; a trapdoor.
      Close the trap, would you, before someone falls and breaks their neck.
    2. (now rare) A kind of movable stepladder or set of stairs.
      • 1798 January 3, Edinburgh Weekly Journal, page 5:
        There is likewise a cabin trap with five steps.
      • 1842, Ellison Jack (girl, age 11), quoted in The Condition and Treatment of the Children Employed in the Mines, page 48:
        "I have to bear my burthen up four traps, or ladders, before I get to the main road which leads to the pit bottom."
      • 1847, David Low, Elements of Practical Agriculture, page 37:
        They have very generally received the name of trap-rocks, because they often present the appearance of traps or stairs.
      • 1867, The Children's hour, page 137:
        Little Alf turned at once, and bidding Frank good-bye, he went into the house, and climbed up the trap stair into his little room in the garret, and pondered in his heart these words of Dolly's.
      • 1875, The Gardner: A Magazine of Horticulture and Floriculture, page 3:
        The labour and time that are saved by thus concentrating and placing the heating power in doing away with the running to so many points, and up and down so many stairs or traps in attending to a number of fires, is also well worth noticing.
      • 1887, George G. Green, Gordonhaven, page 114:
        Coming near the door, Scorgie cautioned quietness, and pointing to a trap stair he motioned Mr. Love and Donald to ascend to the loft.
      • 1889 (original 1886), Willock, Rosetty Ends, 29:
        Had climbed up the trap-stair, and was busy potterin' aboot.
      • 1920, Soviet Russia, page 14:
        Tossing, the negro walks up the trap-ladder. But the emotions of a drunkard change quickly.
      • 1960, Bernard Guilbert Guerney, An Anthology of Russian Literature in the Soviet Period from Gorki to Pasternak:
        The stokers, breaking into excited talk, picked him up and dragged him up the trap ladder to the deck. The Canadian wiped the blood off Petka's injured forehead ...
  5. A bend, sag, or other device in a waste-pipe arranged so that the liquid contents form a seal which prevents the escape of noxious gases, but permits the flow of liquids.
    1. A place in a water pipe, pump, etc., where air accumulates for lack of an outlet.
    2. (geology) A geological structure that creates a petroleum reservoir.
  6. A wooden instrument shaped somewhat like a shoe, used in the game of trapball.
    1. The game of trapball itself.
  7. (US, slang, African-American Vernacular, also attributive) A vehicle, residential building, or sidewalk corner where drugs are manufactured, packaged, or sold.
    trap car
  8. (US, slang, African-American Vernacular, also attributive) An area, especially of a city, with a low level of opportunity and a high level of poverty and crime; a ghetto; a hood.
      • 2018, Kyle T. Mays, Hip Hop Beats, Indigenous Rhymes: Modernity and Hip Hop in North America, page 93:
        Maybe T.I was also making connection between fur trapping and living in the trap, or the hood.
        • 2021 November 19, “Pink 3 Remix”‎[6]performed by PCAJAY:
          Stay in the trap like my name was McCaulk. Dumb-ahh nigger, I think he meant Culkin.
        • 2022 September 25, “Dork”‎[7]performed by Aeterluv:
          Bitch ass nigga get rocked. I walk in da trap with a Glock and a K in my sock. U fag ass nigga get popped. U a gay lil dumb ahh nigga came from TikTok. I'mma talk my shi won't stop. Bitch u all on my dick for a drop, nigga get off my cock.
  9. (music, uncountable) A genre of hip-hop music, with half-time drums and heavy sub-bass.
    1. Synonym: trap music
  10. (aviation, military, slang) A successful landing on an aircraft carrier using the carrier's arresting gear.
    After 100 traps, the arresting cables have to be replaced to minimize the danger of a worn or fatigued cable snapping under an aircraft.
  11. (historical) A light two-wheeled carriage with springs.
    a horse and trap
  1. (slang) A person's mouth.
    Keep your trap shut.
  2. (slang) Synonym of vagina.
  1. (slang, archaic) A policeman.
  1. (in the plural, archaic) Belongings.
  1. (slang) A cubicle (in a public toilet).
    I've just laid a cable in trap 2 so I'd give it 5 minutes if I were you.
  2. (gun sports) Trapshooting.
  3. (Australia, slang, historical) A mining license inspector during the Australian gold rush.
  1. (slang, uncountable) The money earned by a prostitute for a pimp.

(antonym(s) of “aircraft-carrier landing”): bolter

device designed to catch or kill animals

trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense

covering over a hole or opening; trapdoor

wooden instrument shaped somewhat like a shoe, used in the game of trapball; the game of trapball itself

place in a water pipe, pump, etc., where air accumulates for want of an outlet

slang: mouth

belongings

a type of trap to catch birds using bait with adjustable loop

Translations to be checked

trap (third-person singular simple present traps, present participle trapping, simple past and past participle trapped)

  1. (transitive) To physically capture, to catch in a trap or traps, or something like a trap.
    to trap foxes
    • 2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist:
      As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels. The reason plaque forms isn’t entirely known, but it seems to be related to high levels of cholesterol inducing an inflammatory response, which can also attract and trap more cellular debris over time.
  2. (transitive) To ensnare; to take by stratagem; to entrap.
    Be careful not to trap your finger in the door.
  3. (transitive) To provide with a trap.
    to trap a drain
    to trap a sewer pipe
  4. (intransitive) To set traps for game; to make a business of trapping game; to travel for the purpose of trapping.
    trap for beaver
    They trapped north along the river.
  5. (aviation, military, slang, intransitive) To successfully land an aircraft on an aircraft carrier using the carrier's arresting gear.
    Antonym: bolter
    After three consecutive bolters, the pilot finally trapped successfully on the Nimitz.
  6. (intransitive) To leave suddenly, to flee.
  7. (computing, intransitive) To capture (e.g. an error) in order to handle or process it.
  8. (mining, dated) To attend to and open and close a (trap-)door.
  9. (slang, informal, sometimes offensive) Of a 'trap': to trick a (heterosexual) man into having sex, by appearing to be a woman.
    • 2016, Stefan Horlacher, Transgender and Intersex: Theoretical, Practical, and Artistic Perspectives, Palgrave Macmillan US, page 92:
      Straight cis men persist in believing that my transition is all about them—tricking them, trapping them, ruining them.
    • 2019, Rachel Anne Williams, Transgressive: A Trans Woman on Gender, Feminism, and Politics, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 32:
      A "trap" is basically a trans girl or crossdresser who "tricks" or "traps" a straight male into getting aroused by them and then suddenly reveals their trans status.
    • 2020, Natalie Boero, The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Body and Embodiment, Little, Brown and Company, pages 211–212:
      the Western pornography genre in which a straight man believes he is being seduced by a cis woman, and by the time he discovers she is trans has been “trapped” by his lust into having a sexual encounter with her.
  10. (intransitive, African-American Vernacular, slang) To sell illegal drugs, especially in a public area.

to catch in a trap or traps — see also retain

to ensnare; to take by stratagem; to entrap — see also entrap

to leave suddenly, to flee

computing:to capture (e.g. an error) in order to handle or process it

Borrowed from Swedish trapp (“step, stair, stairway”), from Middle Low German trappe (“stair, step”).

trap (countable and uncountable, plural traps)

  1. A dark coloured igneous rock, now used to designate any non-granitic igneous rock; trap rock.

Akin to Middle English trappe (“trappings, gear”), and perhaps from Old Northern French trape, a byform of Old French drap, a word of the same origin as English drab (“a kind of cloth”).

trap (third-person singular simple present traps, present participle trapping, simple past and past participle trapped)

  1. To dress with ornaments; to adorn (especially said of horses).

Clipping of trapezius.

trap (plural traps)

  1. (slang, bodybuilding, anatomy) The trapezius muscle.

From Dutch trap.

trap (plural trappe, diminutive trappie)

  1. stairs, staircase

Either a t- prefixed form of *rap, related to rrap (cf. Old Norse raptr (“rafter”), English raft), or akin to Proto-Germanic *trap-, compare Old High German trappa, trapa (“trap, snare”), German Treppe (“step, stair”), Old English treppan (“to step, tread”), English trap.

trap m

  1. raft, ferry
  2. thick grove
  3. furrow, channel, ditch
  4. path (on the mountains or in the woods)

From Arabic تُرَاب (turāb).

trap m (plural trep)

  1. earth, dust

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *torpъ.

trap m inan

  1. trot
    Synonyms: klus, poklus

trap m inan

  1. trap shooting

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

trap

  1. second-person singular imperative of trápit

From Middle Dutch trappe, from Old Dutch *trappa, from Proto-West Germanic *trappā.

trap m (plural trappen, diminutive trapje n or trappetje n)

  1. stairs, staircase
  2. ladder
  3. degree, grade
  4. kick (act of kicking)

From German Trappe, from Polish drop or Czech drop.

trap f (plural trappen, diminutive trapje n)

  1. bustard (bird of the order Otidiformes)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

trap

  1. inflection of trappen:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
    3. imperative

Borrowed from English trap. Doublet of rappu.

trap

  1. trapshooting, trap (type of shooting sport)
  2. (ice hockey) trap
    • 2016 October 23, Juha Hiitelä, “Pilaako trap-puolustus jääkiekon? [Is the Trap Defence Ruining Ice Hockey?]”, in Ilta-Sanomat‎[10]:

Spelling:

Pronunciation /ˈt̪rɑp/:

| | singular | plural | | | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | nominative | trap | trapit | | genitive | trapin | trappien | | partitive | trappia | trappeja | | accusative | traptrapin | trapit | | inessive | trapissa | trapeissa | | elative | trapista | trapeista | | illative | trappiin | trappeihin | | adessive | trapilla | trapeilla | | ablative | trapilta | trapeilta | | allative | trapille | trapeille | | essive | trappina | trappeina | | translative | trapiksi | trapeiksi | | abessive | trapitta | trapeitta | | instructive | – | trapein | | comitative | – | trappeineen |

Pronunciation /ˈt̪ræp/:

| | singular | plural | | | ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | nominative | trap | trapit | | genitive | trapin | trappien | | partitive | trappiä | trappejä | | accusative | traptrapin | trapit | | inessive | trapissä | trapeissä | | elative | trapistä | trapeistä | | illative | trappiin | trappeihin | | adessive | trapillä | trapeillä | | ablative | trapiltä | trapeiltä | | allative | trapille | trapeille | | essive | trappinä | trappeinä | | translative | trapiksi | trapeiksi | | abessive | trapittä | trapeittä | | instructive | – | trapein | | comitative | – | trappeineen |

trap m (uncountable)

  1. trap (music style)

Borrowed from English trap.

trap (plural **trap-trap)

  1. trap
    Synonym: jebakan

Borrowed from Dutch trap.

trap (plural **trap-trap)

  1. alternative form of terap

trap

  1. alternative form of trappe (“trap”)

trap

  1. alternative form of trappe (“baking dish”)

Borrowed from Dutch trap.

trap m inan

  1. (nautical) gangway, gangplank, gangboard, accommodation ladder

Borrowed from French trappe.

trap m inan

  1. trapdoor
    Synonym: zapadnia

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

trap

  1. second-person singular imperative of trapić

Unadapted borrowing from English trap.

trap m or f by sense (plural traps)

  1. (offensive, derogatory) trap (a transvestite or trans woman)

trap m (uncountable)

  1. trap (music)

Borrowed from German Trab.

trap n (plural trapuri)

  1. trot (horse gait)

Borrowed from English trap.

trap m (uncountable)

  1. trap (music)

Borrowed from English trap.

trap m (plural trapiau or trapau or traps)

  1. trap, snare
    Synonym: magl
  2. (vehicles) trap (cart drawn by a pony)