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

How could he tell but that a real lord had already trumped up on the tapis; and was at that moment kneeling upon one of the Clarendon carpets, by the selvedge of her silken skirt?

From The Child Wife by Reid, Mayne

And she has asked for a new tapis de lit, and she has requested me to provide Célestine with a pair of light shoes. 

From Lady Barbarina The Siege of London, An International Episode and Other Tales by James, Henry