Etymograph

English

draper

Draper comes from Old French drap ‘clothing’, and goes back to Late Latin drappus.

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdrappus1‘piece of cloth’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400drap2‘clothing’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400drapier2
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400draper2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500draper2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1930draper2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old French drap
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English draper
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap: “[S]uch was the aberration of mind attending converse with…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdrappusWiktionary, Old French drap‘piece of cloth’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400drapWiktionary, English draper‘clothing’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400drapierWiktionary, English draper
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400draperWiktionary, English draper
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500draperWiktionary, English draper
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1930draperWiktionary, English draper. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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’

drop, 5 more

through Late Latin drappus ‘piece of cloth’

trapping, 3 more

through Old French drap ‘clothing’

drab, 2 more

Today it means

noun One who sells cloths; a dealer in cloths; a textile merchant.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “draper”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old French drap. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Late Latin drappus / draper

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