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sellotape

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sellotape¹

  • /ˈsɛləteɪp/

Where it comes from

Genericized trademark from Sellotape, a blend of cellophane + tape. The spelling with S- was to avoid an existing trademark on the word Cellophane itself.

noun sellotapes

  1. Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, countable, uncountable Adhesive tape.

    Similar: Scotch tape, sticky tape

verb sellotapes · sellotaping · sellotaped

  1. Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, UK, transitive To seal with adhesive tape. The door was slightly ajar, with a newspaper cartoon sellotaped to it:

Sellotape²

Where it comes from

Brand name, from cellophane tape. The first letter was changed to avoid infringing the then-extant trademark on cellophane.

noun Sellotapes

  1. Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, UK, uncountable, usually A brand of adhesive tape (and similar products) similar to Scotch tape (US).

    Similar: Scotch tape, sticky tape

verb Sellotapes · Sellotaping · Sellotaped

  1. Alternative letter-case form of sellotape On one car he Sellotaped the ticket over the windscreen wiper.

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Cite this
MLA

"sellotape." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sellotape. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sellotape. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sellotape

Chicago

"sellotape." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sellotape.

BibTeX
@misc{sellotape_2026,
  title = {sellotape},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sellotape},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}