Meaning

noun a less than average tide occurring at the first and third quarters of the moon

originFrom Middle English neep, from Old English nēp (“scant, lacking”), possibly from Proto-Germanic *nōpiz (“narrow”). Found especially in Old English nēpflōd (“neap tide”, literally “low tide”). Compare Norwegian dialectal nøpen (“scarce, scant, barely enough”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0