Where does “claptrap” come from?
Claptrap derives from English trap and Swedish trapp, tracing back through Old English clæppan and Medieval Latin claperius to the Proto-Indo-European root drem-.
claptrap (English): Empty verbiage or nonsense; A device for...
Definitions
- Empty verbiage or nonsense; A device for...
Ancestry of “claptrap”, step by step
claptrap traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English clap
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | clap | The act of striking the palms of the hands, or... |
| 2 | Old French | clapoir | bubo, inflammation from infection |
| 3 | Old French | clapier | brothel |
| 4 | Old Occitan | clapier | rabbit hutch |
| 5 | Old Occitan | clap | heap of stones |
| 6 | Medieval Latin | claperius | — |
via English trap
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | trap | A machine or other device designed to catch (and sometimes kill) animals, either by holding them in a container, or by catching hold of part of the body |
| 2 | Middle English | trappe | trap |
| 3 | Old English | træppe | a trap |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | trap- | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | dreb- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | der- | to split, to separate; to tear, to crack, to... |