lap

1 [lap]
noun
1.
the front part of the human body from the waist to the knees when in a sitting position.
2.
the part of the clothing that lies on the front portion of the body from the waist to the knees when one sits.
3.
a place, environment, or situation of rest or nurture: the lap of luxury.
4.
area of responsibility, care, charge, or control: They dropped the problem right in his lap.
5.
a hollow place, as a hollow among hills.
6.
the front part of a skirt, especially as held up to contain something.
7.
a part of a garment that extends over another: the lap of a coat.
8.
a loose border or fold.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English lappe, Old English læppa; cognate with Dutch lap; akin to German lappen, Old Norse leppr rag, patch

00:10
Lap is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Dictionary.com Unabridged

lap

2 [lap] verb, lapped, lap·ping, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to fold over or around something; wrap or wind around something: to lap a bandage around one's finger.
2.
to enwrap in something; wrap up; clothe.
3.
to envelop or enfold: lapped in luxury.
4.
to lay (something) partly over something underneath; lay (things) together, one partly over another; overlap.
5.
to lie partly over (something underneath).
6.
to get a lap or more ahead of (a competitor) in racing, as on an oval track.
7.
to cut or polish with a lap.
8.
to join, as by scarfing, to form a single piece with the same dimensions throughout.
9.
to change (cotton, wool, etc.) into a compressed layer or sheet.
verb (used without object)
10.
to fold or wind around something.
11.
to lie partly over or alongside of something else.
12.
to lie upon and extend beyond a thing; overlap.
13.
to extend beyond a limit.
noun
14.
the act of lapping.
15.
the amount of material required to go around a thing once.
16.
a complete circuit of a course in racing or in walking for exercise: to run a lap.
17.
an overlapping part.
18.
the extent or amount of overlapping.
19.
a rotating wheel or disk holding an abrasive or polishing powder on its surface, used for gems, cutlery, etc.
20.
a compressed layer or sheet of cotton, wool, or other fibrous material usually wound on an iron rod or rolled into a cylindrical form for further processing during carding.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English lappen to fold, wrap; cognate with Dutch lappen to patch, mend; akin to lap1

lap

3 [lap] verb, lapped, lap·ping, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
(of water) to wash against or beat upon (something) with a light, slapping or splashing sound: Waves lapped the shoreline.
2.
to take in (liquid) with the tongue; lick in: to lap water from a bowl.
verb (used without object)
3.
to wash or move in small waves with a light, slapping or splashing sound: The water lapped gently against the mooring.
4.
to take up liquid with the tongue; lick up a liquid.
noun
5.
the act of lapping liquid.
6.
the lapping of water against something.
7.
the sound of this: the quiet lap of the sea on the rocks.
8.
something lapped up, as liquid food for dogs.
Verb phrases
9.
lap up,
a.
Informal. to receive enthusiastically: The audience lapped up his monologue.
b.
to take in (all of a liquid) with the tongue; drink up: The cat lapped up her milk and looked for more.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English lappen, unexplained variant of lapen, Old English lapian; cognate with Middle Low German lapen, Old High German laffan; akin to Latin lambere, Greek láptein to lick, lap

lap

4 [lap]
verb Archaic.
simple past tense of leap.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To lap
Collins
World English Dictionary
lap1 (læp) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  the area formed by the upper surface of the thighs of a seated person
2.  Also called: lapful the amount held in one's lap
3.  a protected place or environment: in the lap of luxury
4.  any of various hollow or depressed areas, such as a hollow in the land
5.  the part of one's clothing that covers the lap
6.  drop in someone's lap give someone the responsibility of
7.  in the lap of the gods beyond human control and power
 
[Old English læppa flap; see lobe, lappet, lop²]

lap2 (læp) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  one circuit of a racecourse or track
2.  a stage or part of a journey, race, etc
3.  a.  an overlapping part or projection
 b.  the extent of overlap
4.  the length of material needed to go around an object
5.  a rotating disc coated with fine abrasive for polishing gemstones
6.  any device for holding a fine abrasive to polish materials
7.  metallurgy a defect in rolled metals caused by the folding of a fin onto the surface
8.  a sheet or band of fibres, such as cotton, prepared for further processing
 
—vb , laps, lapping, lapped
9.  (tr) to wrap or fold (around or over): he lapped a bandage around his wrist
10.  (tr) to enclose or envelop in: he lapped his wrist in a bandage
11.  to place or lie partly or completely over or project beyond
12.  (tr; usually passive) to envelop or surround with comfort, love, etc: lapped in luxury
13.  (intr) to be folded
14.  (tr) to overtake (an opponent) in a race so as to be one or more circuits ahead
15.  (tr) to polish or cut (a workpiece, gemstone, etc) with a fine abrasive, esp to hone (mating metal parts) against each other with an abrasive
16.  to form (fibres) into a sheet or band
 
[C13 (in the sense: to wrap): probably from lap1]
 
'lapper2
 
—n

lap3 (læp) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb , laps, lapping, lapped
1.  (of small waves) to wash against (a shore, boat, etc), usually with light splashing sounds
2.  (often foll by up) (esp of animals) to scoop (a liquid) into the mouth with the tongue
 
—n
3.  the act or sound of lapping
4.  a thin food for dogs or other animals
 
[Old English lapian; related to Old High German laffan, Latin lambere, Greek laptein]
 
'lapper3
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

lap
O.E. læppa "skirt or flap of a garment," from P.Gmc. *lapp- (cf. M.Du. lappe, O.H.G. lappa, Ger. Lappen "rag, shred," O.N. leppr "patch, rag"), from PIE base *leb- "be loose, hang down." In 17c. the word was a euphemism for "female pudenda." Sense of "lower part of a shirt" led to that of "upper
legs of seated person" (late 13c.). Lap dance first recorded 1993.
"To lap dance, you undress, sit your client down, order him to stay still and fully clothed, then hover over him, making a motion that you have perfected by watching Mister Softee ice cream dispensers." [Anthony Lane, review of "Showgirls," "New Yorker," Oct. 16, 1995]
Phrase lap of luxury first recorded 1802.

lap
"take up liquid with the tongue," from O.E. lapian, from P.Gmc. *lapajanan (cf. O.H.G. laffen "to lick," O.S. lepil, Ger. Löffel "spoon"), from PIE imitative base *lab- (cf. Gk. laptein "to sip, lick," L. lambere "to lick"). Meaning "splash gently" first recorded 1823, based on similarity of sound.

lap
"to lay one part over another," early 13c., from lap (n.). The sense of "to get a lap ahead (of someone) on a track" is from 1847, on notion of "overlapping." The noun meaning "a turn around a track" (1861) is from this sense. Related: Lapped; lapping; laps.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

LAP definition


LISP Assembly Program. The assembly language embedded into early Lisp. LAP was also used by the Liar compiler for MIT Scheme and MACLISP.
[Sammet 1969, p. 597].
(1994-11-01)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
lap
laparotomy
LAP
leukocyte alkaline phosphatase
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

lap

In addition to the idioms beginning with lap, also see drop in someone's lap.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Pensions would be based on average pay throughout an employee's working life,
  rather than in the last lap.
The waters that lap their beaches isolate them from the pipelines and grids
  that deliver cheaper electricity on the mainland.
He will try to push his huge head into my lap when he wants to be petted.
Most notebook users have experienced the burn that comes from keeping notebooks
  on their lap for an extended period of time.
Idioms & Phrases
lap
drop in someone's lap
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