attap

A1T1T1A1P3
UK/ˈatəp/US/ˈaˌtap/

noun

Nipa; a palm tree of the species Nypa fruticans.

OriginMalay atap →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

nounattap (countable and uncountable, plural attaps)

plural attaps · alternative adap · alternative atap

  1. countableuncountableNipa; a palm tree of the species Nypa fruticans.
  2. MalaysiaSingaporecountableuncountableThatch made from leaves of the nipa palm.
  3. countableA section of attap thatch.

    I therefore sent my two men immediately to buy "ataps" (palm-leaf thatch) to repair the roof, and the next day, with the assistance of eight of the Sultan's men, got all my stores and furniture carried up and pretty comfortably arranged.

    1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 37

Origin

  1. Malayatap“roof”
  2. Englishattap

Borrowed from Malay atap (“roof”).

More words from Malay

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Tapta
Cite this entry
APA

attap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/attap

MLA

“attap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/attap. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “attap,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/attap.

Source: attap on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.