lap

Forms

lap m (plural lappen, diminutive lapje n)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch lappe (also ⟨lap⟩), inherited from Old Dutch lap, inherited from Proto-Germanic *lappa-.^[2][1][3] The same word is Old Saxon lappo, Old High German lappo and ⟨lappa⟩ (modern German Lappen), Old Frisian lappa (West Frisian lape), Old English læppa (modern lap, the lap of the body) and Swedish lapp, all first meaning a hanging piece of cloth.^[2][4][5] With umlaut there is Old Norse leppr (“lock of hair, flap”).^[2][4]

The double /pp/ may come from assimilation of ⟨*lapna-⟩, as Franck–Van Wijk hold, or already from a cluster *-bn- in Proto-Indo-European;^[2][4][5] De Vries sees an expressive doubling of ⟨*lapa-⟩.^[2][4][5] Beyond Germanic the origin is unclear.^[2][6] The EWN suggests the zero grade Proto-Indo-European *lh₂b- of the root *(s)leh₂b-, which also lies behind slap and slapen, and perhaps laf.^[2] De Vries and the WNT put it beside Ancient Greek λοβός (lobós, “lobe, pod”).^[4][6][7][1] A link with Lithuanian lāpas (“leaf”), lõpas (“patch”) and Albanian lapë (“rag”), from *lep-, is less likely, since the consonants would then have escaped the Germanic sound shift.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century, Old Dutch lap glosses Latin oram vestis, the edge of Aaron's garment onto which the oil runs down from his beard, probably meaning a collar or a loose piece of cloth at the neck.^[3][2][8] The place name Lappescura (Lapscheure near Bruges) is recorded in 1019.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch the word was used for a patch, a loose piece of cloth, leather or paper, and also for a piece of land: a text of 1343–46 counts van den 2 morghen ende van den lappen “for the two morgens and for the small plots”.^[2][9] A Holland text of 1401 tells of someone who patched his companion's coat mit lappen.^[9] The verb lappen “to mend” is a derivative of the noun, recorded from 1285.^[2]

Early modern Dutch used lap scornfully for a rag (1659), and geen lap meant “nothing at all” (1535).^[6] Een lap in de mond kept someone from speaking (1600), and a red rag that makes a bull charge became a figure of speech by 1901.^[6] Een nieuwe lap op een oud kleed, a new rule that does not suit an old system, comes from the parable in Matthew 9:16.^[6][10] The patched coat of the lapjeskat “tortoiseshell cat” is first named in 1921.^[2] Today lap is also a flat piece cut from a mass of meat or dough, and in Belgium a hard blow.^[11][12][1]

Dutch traders took the word east: Indonesian lap is a cleaning cloth, Javanese lap or elap a cleaning rag, and Papiamentu has lapi.^[13][1] Negerhollands lap means a slap, and Afrikaans lap lives on.^[13][1]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Old Dutch lap glosses the edge of a garment in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[3][2][8]
• 1019 – The place name Lappescura is recorded.^[3]
• 1285 – The verb lappen “to mend” is first recorded.^[2]
• 1343–46 – Lappen is used for small plots of land.^[2]
• 1401 – A coat is mended mit lappen.^[9]
• 1535 – Geen lap “nothing” is recorded.^[6]
• 1600 – Een lap in de mond is recorded.^[6]
• 1921 – Lapjeskat “tortoiseshell cat” is first recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A piece of cloth or fabric; a rag.^[12][11][1]
2. A patch sewn on to cover a tear or hole.^[12][1]
3. A flat piece cut from a larger mass, especially a slice of meat.^[11][12][1]
4. A plot or stretch of land.^[1][11]
5. (Belgium, informal) A slap, a hard blow.^[12][11][1]
6. A lap behind in a race on a track.^[12][11]

Word family

• lappen
• lapjeskat
• lappendeken
• lappenmand
• lappenpop
• schaamlap
• snotlap
• stoplap
• smeerlap
• baklap
• runderlap
• lapnaam

Related words

• English lap

Usage notes

The sense “a lap behind in a race” is a borrowing of the English word lap.^[14][15] A word lap for a contemptible man or a drunkard, now mostly in compounds such as zatlap and zuiplap, is recorded from 1600 (dronke lappen in 1734); Stoett thought it meant “a soft, weak fellow” and so belonged with lap “rag”, which the WNT finds not unlikely.^[6][16] In West Flanders lap “drinker” is linked with the verb lappen instead.^[17] In Belgium lap! is also an exclamation of dismay or disappointment.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
3. ^ a b c d e Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
4. ^ a b c d e Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
7. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 220
8. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
9. ^ a b c Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
10. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
11. ^ a b c d e f Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
12. ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
13. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
14. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
15. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
16. ^ Coster, Marc de (2007), Groot scheldwoordenboek: van apenkont tot zweefteef, Antwerpen: Standaard
17. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2002), West-Vlaams etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de West-Vlaamse woorden, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Atlas