Where does “lap” come from?
Lap comes from Middle English lappe, from Old English læppa, from Proto-Germanic lappô, from Proto-Indo-European leb-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer-.
lap (English): The loose part of a coat; the lower part of a...
Definitions
- The loose part of a coat; the lower part of a...
Ancestry of “lap”, step by step
lap traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English lappen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | lappen | to wrap, fold |
| 2 | Old English | lapian | to lick, lap up, suck |
| 3 | Tagalog | lapi | joining or attaching a part to a whole; affix |
| 4 | Spanish | lápiz | pencil |
| 5 | Italian | lapis | pencil; sanguine |
| 6 | Latin | lapis | a stone; a milestone; a boundary stone |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *lapets | stone |
via Middle English lappe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | lappe | lap; Alternative form of loppe |