Etymology Dictionary

TAPE,  a narrow band or fillet of woven work, used for strings, &c.  (L.,—Gk.)   M.E. tape, Chaucer, C. T. 3241; also tappe.   'Hec tenea, tappe;' in a list of ornaments, Wright, Voc. i. 196, col. 2.—A.S. tæppe, a tape, fillet.   'Tenia, tæppan vel dol-smeltas,' where tæppan is a pl. form; Wright, Voc. i. 16, l. 4 from end.   The orig. sense must have been 'a covering' or 'a strip of stuff;' it is closely allied to A.S. tæppet, a tippet, and the use of the pl. tæppan is suggestive of strips of stuff or cloth.   Not an E. word, but borrowed from L. tapete, cloth, hangings, tapestry, a word borrowed from Greek.   See Tapestry, Tippet.   In like manner we find O.H.G. tepih, teppi (mod. G. teppich) tapestry, with the same sense as O.H.G. tepit, from the same Lat. word.   Der. tape-worm.