Etymograph

English

tapas

Tapas comes from Spanish tapa ‘appetizer, tapa’, from Proto-Germanic *tappô ‘plug’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- ‘to lose’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂p-1‘to lose’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tappô1‘plug’reconstructed
  3. Gothicc. 300–600*tappa1transliteratedGothic script *tappa, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionaryreconstructed
  4. Old Spanishc. 950–1500tapa2
  5. Spanishc. 1500–presenttapa1‘appetizer, tapa’
  6. Spanishc. 1500–presenttapas1plural of tapa
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1986tapas1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English tapas
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Spanish tapa
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1986, Jeff Smith, The Tapas Buffet (Spain): “The snacks are called tapas because in the old…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂p-Wiktionary, English tapas‘to lose’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tappôWiktionary, English tapas‘plug’reconstructed
  3. Gothicc. 300–600*tappaWiktionary, English tapastransliteratedGothic script *tappa, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionaryreconstructed
  4. Old Spanishc. 950–1500tapaWiktionary, Spanish tapa
  5. Spanishc. 1500–presenttapaWiktionary, English tapas‘appetizer, tapa’
  6. Spanishc. 1500–presenttapasWiktionary, English tapasplural of tapa
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1986tapasWiktionary, English tapas. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1986, Jeff Smith, The Tapas Buffet (Spain): “The snacks are called tapas because in the old…”

The story

From Spanish tapas, the plural of tapa (‘appetizer, tapa; cap, lid (cover of a container)’) (from the fact that plates of tapas were originally placed on the tops of glasses of alcoholic beverages as lids), from Gothic *𐍄𐌰𐍀𐍀𐌰 (*tappa), from Proto-Germanic *tappô (‘plug; tap’), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- (‘to lose; to sacrifice’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- ‘to lose’

damn, damage, condemn, indemnity, 8 more

through Proto-Germanic *tappô ‘plug’

tap, tampon, 2 more

Another origin of tapas

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tep-‘to be warm or hot’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*tap-reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*tap-reconstructed
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEतप्tap‘heat’
  5. Englishtodaytapas

Today it means

noun A variety of Spanish small savoury food items or snacks such as croquettes, cured meat, potato salad, and seafood, originally served with sherry and now often with other alcoholic beverages as well.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tapas”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Spanish tapa. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- / tapas

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