neap

adjective

1. designating tides midway between spring tides that attain the least height.

noun

2. neap tide.

noun New England.

1. the pole or tongue of a cart, wagon, etc., drawn by two animals side by side.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or constituting a neap tide

noun

2. short for neap tide

adj.Middle English, from Old English nepflod “neap flood,” the tide occurring at the end of the first and third quarters of the lunar month, in which high waters are at their lowest, of unknown origin, with no known cognates (Danish niptid probably is from English). Original sense perhaps is “without power.” As a noun from 1580s.