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LAP (1), to
lick up with the tongue. (E.) M.E. lappen, lapen,
Wyclif, Judges, vii. 7; Gower, C. A. iii. 215.—A.S. lapian, to lap; rare,
but found in Ælfric's Grammar (Lye), and in Glosses to Prudentius
(Leo). The derivative læpelder, a spoon, is in Ælfric's Homilies,
ii. 244, l. 4. + Icel. lepja, to lap like a dog. + Dan labe, to lap. + M.H.G.
laffen, O.H.G. laffan, to lap up. + W. llepio, to lap up. + Lat.
lambere (with
inserted m), to lick. + Gk.
λάπτειν, to lap with the tongue; Fick, i. 751, iii.
266. All from a base LAB, LAP, to lap, lick up. Der.
from the same base are lab-i-al, lamb-ent, lip.
LAP (2), the
loose part of a coat, an apron, part of the body covered by an apron, a fold,
flap. (E.) M.E. lappe (dissyllabic), Chaucer, C. T. 688; P.
Plowman, B. ii. 35, xvi. 255; often in the sense of 'skirt of a garment;' see
Prompt. Parv., and Way's note.—A.S. læppa, a loosely hanging portion; 'lifre
læppan' = portions of the liver; Ælfric's Gloss., in Wright's Vocab. i.
45, col. 2, l. 18. + O. Fries. lappa, a piece of a garment. + Du. lap, a
remnant, shred, rag, patch. + Dan. lap, a patch. + Swed. lapp, a piece, shred,
patch. + G. lappen, a patch, shred. β. The Teut. base is LAPAN, a
shred, patch (Fick, iii. 266); a sb. formed from the Teut. base LAP, to hang
down, occurring in Icel. lapa, to hang down (not given in Cleasby, but cited by
Fick and others). γ. This Teut. base = Aryan ✔RAB,
to hang down, fall, glide or slip down. From this root are Skt. lamb
(oldest form ramb), to hang, fall down; Lat. lābi, to glide, &c.
See Lobe, Limbo,
Lapse, Limp (1). Der.
lap-ful; lap-el, i.e. part of
a coat which laps over the facing (a mod. word, added by Todd to Johnson),
formed with dimin. suffix -el; lapp-et, dimin. form with suffix -et, used by
Swift (Johnson); lap-dog, Dryden, tr. of Juvenal, Sat. vi. 853; also lab-el,
q.v. ➩
Doubtless the verb to lap (see Lap (3)) has often been supposed to be connected
with this sb.; but the two words should be kept quite distinct. In
the phrase 'to lap over,' it is probable that the verb really belongs to the
present sb. Cf. lop-eared = lap-eared, with hanging ears, applied to
rabbits.
LAP (3), to
wrap, involve, fold. (E.) Doubtless frequently confused with
the word above, but originally quite distinct from it. M.E. lappen,
to wrap, fold, Will. of Palerne, 1712; 'lapped in cloutes' = wrapped up
in rags, P. Plowman's Crede, ed. Skeat, l. 438. β. This word has
lost an initial w; an older form was wlappen; thus in Wyclif, Matt. xxvii. 59,
the Lat. inuoluit is translated in the later version by 'lappide it,' but in the
earlier one by 'wlappide it.' γ. Lastly, the M.E.
wlappen is a later
form of wrappen, to wrap, by the frequent change of r to l; so that
lap is a
mere corruption or later form of wrap. See Wrap.
➩
The form wlappen explains the latter part of the words de-velop,
en-velop,
q.v.
ADDENDA LAP
(1). The A.S. lapian occurs in Ælfric's Grammar,
ed. Zupitza, p. 177, l. 11; 'Lambo, ic liccige oððe lapige,' i.e. I lick
or lap. Also in A.S. Leechdoms, ii. 184, l. 13. Cf. also
Du. leppen, to sip; Swed läppja, to lap.
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