Lap
/læp/noun
The upper part of the legs of a seated person, or a single turn around a course.
Did you know?The same ancient root behind “lap” also lives in words like “flap,” “lapel,” and “lapse,” all carrying the idea of something bending, hanging, or slipping over an edge.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leb-
“to bend, hang down, or be loose”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*lappô
“lap, flap, hanging piece”
Old English
English
læppa
“loose hanging part of a garment; skirt, flap”
Middle English
English
lap
“the front part of the body from the waist to the knees when seated”
Modern English
English
lap
“the seated fold of the body or a circuit of a course”