tampion

[tam-pee-uh n]

noun

a plug or stopper placed in the muzzle of a piece of ordnance when not in use, to keep out dampness and dust.

Origin of tampion

1425–75; late Middle English tampyon, variant of tampon < Middle French, nasalized variant of Old French tapon, derivative of tape plug < Germanic. See tap²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tampion

Historical Examples of tampion

Tampion, tamp′i-un, n. the stopper used to close the mouth of a cannon or mortar.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for tampion

tampion

tompion

noun

a plug placed in a gun's muzzle when the gun is not in use to keep out moisture and dust

Word Origin for tampion

C15: from French: tampon

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tampion

early 15c., "plug, bung," from Middle French tampon, nasalized variant of Old French tapon "piece of cloth to stop a hole" (late 14c.), a suffixed form of Frankish *tappo "stopper, plug," related to Old High German zapfo and Old English tæppa "stopper" (see tap (2)). Meaning "wooden plug for the muzzle of a gun" (to keep out rain or seawater) is recorded from 1620s.