trapping

SayTRAP-ing/ˈtɹæpɪŋ/

3 meanings of trapping

1
verb
Present participle of trap.
The hunters spent the cold months trapping beavers along the river.
Thick curtains keep the room warm by trapping heat inside overnight.
Note
The -ing form does double duty. In the hunters were trapping beavers it is a verb with an object. In he made his living by trapping it is a gerund naming the trade of setting traps for game, and it needs no object. Once it takes an article or a plural, it has become the noun for a single catch.
2
nouncountable or uncountable
An instance of catching and holding something or someone so they cannot get away.
The trapping of wild boars requires careful planning and strong nets.
A single trapping of the suspect in the back alley ended the chase.
Similarcapture, catching, snaring
Oppositerelease
3
nouncountable
An ornamental covering or piece of harness for a horse, worn for ceremony or display.
A jeweled trapping draped the king's horse as it entered the city.
The stable kept each ceremonial trapping carefully folded between festivals.
Note
Despite the spelling, this is a different word from the noun for a catch, and snares play no part in its history. It comes from Middle English trappyng, built on trappe, "personal belongings, household goods". The related verb trappen meant "to deck, caparison". Where trappe itself came from is uncertain. Its close synonym is caparison, and both words belong to pageantry and display.

trapping is a form of trap

trap, verb: To confine someone or something in a place, or hold them in a situation, so that escape is impossible. Full entry

Forms: traptraps he/she/ittrapping -ing formtrapped past tense, past participle
Spelling: trap → trapping: double the p, add -ing

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–2

This sense comes from the word "trap."

Meaning 3

From Middle English trappyng, from trap or trappe ("personal belongings, household goods"), of uncertain origin. It possibly came through Anglo-Norman from Medieval Latin trapus ("cloth"), from Frankish and Proto-Germanic roots meaning "fringe" or "rags," ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "rag." It is related to Old Norse traf ("headscarf") and compares with Spanish trapo ("rag").