nape
/neɪp/noun, verb
nape is spelled N-A-P-E: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nape means “The back part of the neck” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nape is napes.
How many letters and syllables are in nape?
| Letters | 4: N-A-P-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,767th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is nape?
Nape appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nape?
- /neɪp/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-nape.ogg, En-us-nape.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with nape?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as nape.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: pane, neap, pean.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of nape
- napes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- naping participle, present
- naped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nape mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The back part of the neck.
- 2
The part of a fish or bird immediately behind the head.
- 3
slangNapalm.
RHAH: They got through Alpha Company! Anything behind you don't identify itself, blow it away. Two - air strike's coming in. They gonna lay snake and nape right on the perimeter so stay tight in your holes and don't leave 'em.
- 4
obsoleteA tablecloth.
verb
- 1
slangTo bombard with napalm.
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamine.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nape in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense back part of the neck:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nuque |
| German | Nacken, Genick |
| Portuguese | nuca, cangote |
| Spanish | nuca, cogote, colodrillo, tolano, cocote |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nape come from?
From Middle English nape, naape, of uncertain origin. Possibly from Old French hanap (“goblet”), from Frankish *hnapp, from Proto-Germanic *hnappaz ( > Old English hnæpp, hnæp (“cup, bowl, goblet”)), as there is a hollow at the base of the skull. More at nap.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).