English
nap
Nap comes from Middle English nappen ‘to nap or doze’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *hnappōn.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hnappōn‘to nap’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hnappian‘to doze, slumber, sleep’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nappen‘to nap or doze’
- Englishearliest quotation 1662nap
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hnappōn‘to nap’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hnappian‘to doze, slumber, sleep’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nappen‘to nap or doze’
- Englishearliest quotation 1662nap
Earliest quotation: 1662, [The First Part of Hudibras]: “I took thee napping, unprepared.”
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *hnappōn
Another origin of nap
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nap
- Englishtodaysame form
Another origin of nap
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500noppe
- Englishtodaynap
Another origin of nap
- Frenchc. 1600–presentnappe‘nape’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentnapper‘to cover’
- Englishtodaynap
Another origin of nap
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hnappaz‘a cup, bowl’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hnapp‘bowl, cup’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hnæpp‘a cup, bowl’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nap‘a bowl’
- Englishtodaysame form
Today it means
verb To have a nap; to sleep for a short period of time, especially during the day.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.