Piping

How to spell piping

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce piping

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does piping mean?

1. nounA length or system of pipes used to carry water, gas, or other fluids.
2. nounA narrow cord covered in fabric, sewn into a seam as decorative edging.
3. nounLines or shapes of icing squeezed onto a cake or pastry for decoration.
4. adjectiveExtremely hot, used especially of freshly served food and drink.

Piping in a sentence

• noun

  The plumber replaced the rusted piping under the kitchen sink.

• noun

  The tailor added red piping along the collar of the navy jacket.

• noun

  Delicate piping in pale blue spelled out the birthday message.

• adjective

  The soup arrived piping hot and burned the roof of my mouth.

• noun

  Copper piping runs the full length of the basement wall.

• noun

  White piping outlined the cushions on the new sofa.

Where does piping come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows from 'pipe', which entered English very early as the Old English 'pipe', a name for a tubular wind instrument. The ultimate source is a Vulgar Latin 'pipa', drawn from the Latin verb 'pipare', meaning 'to chirp' or 'to peep' like a small bird, an echo of the thin, high sound a reed pipe makes. From that musical root the word spread to mean any hollow tube, then a system of tubes for carrying water or gas, and even the high, shrill quality of a sound. The '-ing' form covers both the continuous action of playing a pipe and, as a collective noun, an arrangement of tubes. The same imitative origin explains why a thin, raised line of icing or a narrow fabric cord (each suggesting a slender tube) also came to be called piping. When spelling it, remember the silent 'e' of 'pipe' is dropped before the ending, leaving a single 'p' in the middle.

How the word is built

• pipe (tube; to play a pipe)
• -ing (forming a noun or present participle)