lap English · revision 7053

+ English has two words spelled lap: one, from Old English læppa, a flap, gives the lap of a seated person and, through a verb meaning to fold or wrap, a circuit of a racetrack; the other, from Old English lapian, means to lick up.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /læp/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|the thighs of a seated person; a circuit}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=c. 897|origins=gem-pro *lapp-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English lappe, [[inh|ang|læppa|t=skirt or flap of a garment; lobe]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from Proto-Germanic *lapp-, source also of Old Saxon lappo, Dutch [[m|nl|lap]], German [[m|de|Lappen|t=rag, shred]] and Old Norse leppr, patch, rag,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) a word of uncertain origin;^(Etymonline) Greek [[m|grc|λοβός|tr=lobós|t=lobe]] has been compared.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The verb, to wrap or fold, and the noun meaning a circuit come from it.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A flap of a garment: about 897 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The front part from waist to knees of a seated person is probably from before 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The lower front of a shirt or skirt, held up to carry things, led to the sense of the upper legs of a seated person (about 1300).^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) A lobe of the ear or liver is an Old English sense,^(OED 1989) surviving in [[dewlap]].^(Etymonline) The figurative ''lap of luxury'' is from 1760.^(Etymonline) The verb, to wrap or fold round, is from the early 14th century,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and to lay one thing partly over another from 1607.^(Barnhart 1988) From this came a thing wrapped up (1670s) and an overlapping part (1800);^(Etymonline) a single circuit of a racetrack is from 1861, the verb ''to lap'' a competitor from 1847.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 897 – a flap of a garment.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – the thighs of a seated person.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 14th century – to wrap (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1607 – to overlap.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1760 – lap of luxury.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1861 – a circuit of a track.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The flat area formed by the thighs of a seated person.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # One circuit of a racetrack or one length of a swimming pool.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A stage of a journey.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An overlapping part.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To overtake a competitor who is a lap behind.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To wrap, fold or enfold.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To lay something so that it partly covers something else; to [[overlap]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lapdog]]

+ * [[lapel]]

+ * [[lappet]]

+ * [[overlap]]

+ * [[dewlap]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|to lick up}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=gem-pro *lapōną}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English lapen, [[inh|ang|lapian|t=to lap up, drink]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*lapōną]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) cognate with Old High German [[m|goh|laffan|t=to lick]] and Icelandic lepja,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from an imitative PIE base *lab-, also the source of Greek laptein, to sip, and Latin [[m|la|lambo|alt=lambere|t=to lick]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To drink by lapping: about 1000.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of water, to splash gently against something, is by 1823, from the similar sound.^(Etymonline) The figurative ''lap up'', to receive eagerly, is by 1890.^(Etymonline) The noun, liquid food or a weak drink, is from the 1560s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – to lap up.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1560s – weak drink (noun).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1823 – of water, to splash.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1890 – lap up, to accept eagerly.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # Of an animal, to drink by taking up liquid with the [[tongue]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of water, to wash against something with a gentle splashing sound.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(lap up)'' To accept eagerly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[burlap]]

+ * [[lobe]]

+ * [[wrap]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}