Etymograph

English

nap

Nap comes from Middle English nappen ‘to nap or doze’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *hnappōn.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hnappōn1‘to nap’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150hnappian1‘to doze, slumber, sleep’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nappen1‘to nap or doze’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1662nap1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English nap
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1662, [The First Part of Hudibras]: “I took thee napping, unprepared.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hnappōnWiktionary, English nap‘to nap’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150hnappianWiktionary, English nap‘to doze, slumber, sleep’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nappenWiktionary, English nap‘to nap or doze’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1662napWiktionary, English nap. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1662, [The First Part of Hudibras]: “I took thee napping, unprepared.”

Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *hnappōn

Another origin of nap

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nap
  2. Englishtodaynap

Another origin of nap

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500noppe
  2. Englishtodaynap

Another origin of nap

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentnappe‘nape’
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentnapper‘to cover’
  3. Englishtodaynap

Another origin of nap

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hnappaz‘a cup, bowl’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hnapp‘bowl, cup’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hnæpp‘a cup, bowl’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nap‘a bowl’
  5. Englishtodaynap

Today it means

verb To have a nap; to sleep for a short period of time, especially during the day.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nap”. 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 / Proto-West Germanic *hnappōn / nap

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