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tampion

[tam-pee-uh n]
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noun
  1. a plug or stopper placed in the muzzle of a piece of ordnance when not in use, to keep out dampness and dust.
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Also tompion.

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

  • 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
  1. a plug placed in a gun's muzzle when the gun is not in use to keep out moisture and dust
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Word Origin

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

n.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper