Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. The loose part of a coat; the lower part of a...

Ancestry of “lap”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlappento wrap, fold
2Old Englishlapianto lick, lap up, suck
3Tagaloglapijoining or attaching a part to a whole; affix
4Spanishlápizpencil
5Italianlapispencil; sanguine
6Latinlapisa stone; a milestone; a boundary stone
7Proto-Italic*lapets—

Words derived from “lap”

  • overlap
  • laptop
  • lapping
  • lapel
  • lappet
  • lapful
  • lapstone
  • onlap
  • lapelled
  • underlap
  • shiplap
  • lapstrake
  • laprobe
  • lapboard
  • nonoverlap
  • lapper
  • lapeled
  • lapstreak
  • catlap
  • earlap
  • headlap
  • unlap
  • cuntlapper
  • laplike
Every word from Proto-Italic *lapets →