Etymologically
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draper

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 23:53. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˈdɹeɪ.pə(ɹ)/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English draper, also drapier,[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman draper, Old French drapier,[3][4][5][6] an agent noun from drap (“cloth”) with the suffix -ier.[4][3][7] The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from 1148, as a surname.[8] French drap is from Late Latin drappus (“cloth”),[9][10] which Etymonline thinks is perhaps of Gaulish origin.[4] The same Latin word is the source of drape, drapery, drab and trappings.[10][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A maker of woollen cloth: 1362, in Langland's Piers Plowman.[3][9] Etymonline dates the English word to the late 14th century, the Anglo-Norman word to the mid-14th and the surname to the mid-12th.[4] The Middle English Dictionary defines it as one who weaves or sells cloth, or both, and records it in an Anglo-Norman petition to Parliament of 1350–51.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant a maker of (woollen) cloth, then a dealer in cloth, and later a dealer in other textile goods as well.[3][5][9] In Middle English it also served in phrases for the clothiers' guild and the draper's shop, and as a surname.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as one who sells cloth.[11] In combination it could mean a seller of something else, as in ale-draper, a seller of ale.[3][12] The word is now chiefly British.[13][14] A second sense, one who drapes cloth or arranges draperies, is formed anew from drape and -er.[13] A related verb draper, to weave (1436) and to arrange drapery (1717), is obsolete.[3]

Timeline

  • 1148 – the Anglo-Norman word, as a surname.[8]
  • 1350–51 – in an Anglo-Norman petition to Parliament.[2]
  • 1362 – a maker of woollen cloth.[3]
  • late 14th century – a weaver or seller of cloth.[4][2]
  • 1755 – Johnson: one who sells cloth.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (chiefly British) A dealer in cloth and other textiles, and sometimes clothing and sewing materials: She bought the ribbon at the draper's in the high street.[14][13][3]
  2. A person who drapes cloth or arranges draperies, as on a stage set.[13]
  3. (historical) A maker of woollen cloth.[3][5][2]

Word family

  • linen draper
  • drape
  • drapery
  • drab
  • trappings

Usage notes

Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records draper, of unknown origin, for a machine that cleans sugar-beet seed and for the canvas conveyor of a combine harvester.[13] As a surname, Draper is an occupational name from the same Anglo-Norman word.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  13. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  14. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins