lap

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the upper side of the thighs of a seated person
  2. noun an area of control or responsibility
  3. noun the part of a piece of clothing that covers the thighs

Etymology

From Middle English lappe, from Old English læppa (“skirt or flap of a garment”), from Proto-Germanic *lappô (“cloth; rag”), of uncertain origin, possibly Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang loosely”). Cognate with Dutch lap (“cloth; rag”), German Lappen (“cloth; lobe; flap”), Icelandic leppur (“rag; patch”).

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