English
draper
Draper comes from Old French drap ‘clothing’, and goes back to Late Latin drappus.
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdrappus‘piece of cloth’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400drap‘clothing’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400drapier
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400draper
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1930same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdrappus‘piece of cloth’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400drap‘clothing’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400drapier
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400draper
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1930same form
Earliest quotation: 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap: “[S]uch was the aberration of mind attending converse with…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- ‘to beat, crush, make or become thick’
through Late Latin drappus ‘piece of cloth’
through Old French drap ‘clothing’
Today it means
noun One who sells cloths; a dealer in cloths; a textile merchant.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Late Latin drappus / draper