apron

noun

ˈā-prən 

-pərn

often attributive

1

: a garment usually of cloth, plastic, or leather usually tied around the waist and used to protect clothing or adorn a costume

2

: something that suggests or resembles an apron in shape, position, or use: such as

a

: the lower member under the sill of the interior casing of a window

b

: an upward or downward vertical extension of a bathroom fixture (such as a sink or tub)

c

: an endless belt for carrying material

d

: an extensive fan-shaped deposit of detritus

e

: the part of the stage in front of the proscenium arch

f

: the area along the waterfront edge of a pier or wharf

g

: a shield (as of concrete or gravel) to protect against erosion (as of a waterway) by water

h

: the extensive paved part of an airport immediately adjacent to the terminal area or hangars

aproned

ˈā-prənd 

-pərnd

adjective

Did you know?

In medieval French, a diminutive form of nape, meaning “tablecloth,” was naperon, which referred to a small cloth that is placed over a more elegant tablecloth to protect it from stains. This word appears in English of the 14th century as napron and also denoted a protective cloth, but one that was placed over clothing rather than on a table. Because in speech it is often difficult to tell where word boundaries fall, a napron was incorrectly understood to be an apron. The new form apron effectively replaced napron by the 17th century, which completely obscured the etymological relation of apron to napkin, the name of another protective cloth.

Examples of apron in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Milwaukee Bucks are the only other team above the second apron this season. —Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024

Another rule prevents teams with even higher payrolls, those operating in the second apron of the luxury tax, from sending out more than one player in a trade. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 10 Dec. 2024

Choose a style — cartoon, watercolor, modern, classic, royal or Christmas — and then decide whether to stick with the traditional portrait or put the art on a fleece blanket, throw pillow, apron or puzzle. —Catherine Garcia, theweek, 3 Dec. 2024

The front of the bed has a panel that drops over the edge of the sofa like an apron. —Marni Jameson, The Mercury News, 2 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English apron, aperon, alteration (by misdivision of a napron as an apron) of naproun, naperon, napron, borrowed from Anglo-French naperoun "napkin for drying one's hands," earlier Latinized as napero, naperona "cloth to cover a table or other surface, towel, apron," from nape "tablecloth" (going back to Vulgar Latin *nappa, by dissimilation from Latin mappa "piece of cloth used as a towel or napkin") + -eron, diminutive suffix — more at map entry 1, aileron

Note: Although modern French retains the word napperon in the sense "protective piece of cloth, as a table mat, placed on a piece of furniture," the diversification in sense that led to "apron" in English appears to have taken place only in Anglo-French. The Middle English Dictionary records naproun, naperon, etc., only in the sense "apron," according to the judgment of the editors, but nearly all the citations are from payment records or inventories that appear to reveal little about the meaning of the word. The Anglo-Norman Dictionary has a single citation for naperoun, from a courtesy manual of ca. 1430, where it means something like "napkin": "Sur le naperoun voz mains suetz, Ne frotez voz gencies" ("Wipe your hands on the naperoun, don't rub your gums"). Continental evidence for the word apparently does not extend before the fourteenth century. The Anglo-French word is demonstrably earlier, however. The Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources first records naperon in the English Close Rolls as something for which cloth was required in 1215. An entry for 1274 in the household book of Henry, son of Edward I, registers payment for canvas cloth purchased "for covering garments of the same and for naperones in the kitchen" ("pro x ulnis canubie emptis ad cooperiendas robas eorundem et ad naperones in coquina"). Here the word naperones clearly points to a kind of apron. This use is confirmed by a passage from the Exchequer's accounts for 1313: "for canvas purchased for napron' made to preserve the falconers' clothes while they feed the falcons" ("pro canabo empto pro napron' faciend' pro salvacione pannorum falconariorum in pascendo falcones").

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing apron

• apron string
• cut the apron strings
• tied to one's mother's apron strings

Kids Definition

apron

noun

ˈā-prən 

-pərn

1

: a garment worn on the front of the body to keep the clothing from getting dirty

2

: something that suggests or resembles an apron in shape, position, or use: as

a

: the part of the stage in front of the curtain

b

: the paved part of an airport next to the terminal area or hangars

Etymology

from Middle English napron "protective garment" (a napron was mistaken for an apron), derived from early French nape "cloth," from Latin mappa "napkin" — related to map, napkin