self-tapping

adjective

Able to advance when turned, while creating its own thread.

OriginEnglish tapping ← Middle English self- ← Old English self- →
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Meanings

adjectiveself-tapping (not comparable)
  1. not comparableengineeringAble to advance when turned, while creating its own thread.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swé?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
  3. Proto-Germanic*selbaz
  4. Old Englishself
  5. Old Englishself-
  6. Middle Englishself-
  7. Englishself-
  8. Englishtapping
  9. Englishself-tapping

From self- + tapping.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

self-tapping. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-tapping

MLA

“self-tapping.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-tapping. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-tapping,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-tapping.

Source: self-tapping on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.