tapis

American  

[tap-ee, tap-is, ta-pee] / ˈtæp i, ˈtæp ɪs, tæˈpi /

noun

plural

tapis

1. Obsolete. a carpet, tapestry, or other covering.

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idioms

1. on the tapis, under consideration or discussion.

   A new housing development for that area is on the tapis.

tapis British  

/ ˈtæpɪ, tapi, ˈtæpiː /

noun

1. tapestry or carpeting, esp as formerly used to cover a table in a council chamber

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Etymology

Origin of tapis

1485–95; < Middle French; Old French tapiz ≪ Greek tapḗtion little carpet, equivalent to tapēt- (stem of tápēs ) carpet + -ion diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

For a project at a London townhouse, yews clipped into massive rectangles are lined up colonnade-style, framing an impeccable tapis vert that is reached by ascending a broad flight of limestone steps.

From Architectural Digest • May 20, 2015

I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis — O.M.G.

From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2014

"We won't roll out the tapis rouge to firms who don't want to work in the UK," she pledges.

From The Guardian • Jan. 25, 2013

The boy and his dog started off up the glen immediately after, and Kooran, knowing there was something on the tapis, commenced to frisk and bark around his young master.

From Kenneth McAlpine A Tale of Mountain, Moorland and Sea by Stables, Gordon

The saya is a made skirt tied at the waist with a tape, and the tapis is a breadth of dark cloth, silk or satin, doubled round the waist over the saya.

From The Inhabitants of the Philippines by Sawyer, Frederic H.