tapis

[ tap-ee, tap-is, ta-pee ]

noun

, plural tap·is.

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

tapis

/ ˈtæpɪ; tapi; ˈtæpiː /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tapis¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tapis¹

C17: from French, from Old French tapiz, from Greek tapētion rug, from tapēs carpet

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the tapis, under consideration or discussion:

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

Example Sentences

“I believe the tapis rouge wants to come back more strong than before,” he said, using the French words for the red carpet.

From Los Angeles Times

The result is a fully realized outdoor room with decorative furniture on a parquet or tapis pierre — stone carpet — of diagonally set Carderock bluestone.

From Washington Post

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

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

From New York Times

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

From The Guardian