nappe

American  

[nap] / næp /

noun

1. Geology. a large mass of rock thrust a considerable distance along a nearly horizontal fault plane or in an overturned anticlinal fold.

2. Geometry. one of the two equal sections of a cone.

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nappe British  

/ næp /

noun

1. a large sheet or mass of rock, commonly a recumbent fold, that has been thrust from its original position by earth movements

2. the sheet of water that flows over a dam or weir

3. geometry either of the two parts into which a cone (sense 2) is divided by the vertex

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Etymology

Origin of nappe

1905–10, < French: literally, tablecloth, cloth; Old French nappe, nape < Latin mappa; napkin

Example Sentences

Napron hails from the French word naperon, which is an iteration of "nappe," or "a little cloth."

From Salon • Jul. 10, 2022

Each half of a double cone is called a nappe.

From Textbooks • May 6, 2020

One nappe is what most people mean by “cone,” having the shape of a party hat.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Certes je ne cuidoie point que la table fust covered nor the clothe layde, and ye have alredy eaten your porage. couuerte ne la nappe mise, et uous au�s desja meng� uostre potage.

From An Introductorie for to Lerne to Read, To Pronounce, and to Speke French Trewly by Du Wés, Giles

English naprun, from Old Fr. naperon, a derivative of nappe, cloth.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest