from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Lap \Lap\, v. t. [OE. lappen to fold (see {Lap}, n.); cf. also
OE. wlappen, perh. another form of wrappen, E, wrap.]
1. To fold; to bend and lay over or on something; as, to lap
a piece of cloth.
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2. To wrap or wind around something.
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About the paper . . . I lapped several times a
slender thread of very black silk. --Sir I.
Newton.
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3. To infold; to hold as in one's lap; to cherish.
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Her garment spreads, and laps him in the folds.
--Dryden.
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4. To lay or place over anything so as to partly or wholly
cover it; as, to lap one shingle over another; to lay
together one partly over another; as, to lap
weather-boards; also, to be partly over, or by the side of
(something); as, the hinder boat lapped the foremost one.
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5. (Carding & Spinning) To lay together one over another, as
fleeces or slivers for further working.
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{To lap boards}, {shingles}, etc., to lay one partly over
another.
{To lap timbers}, to unite them in such a way as to preserve
the same breadth and depth throughout, as by scarfing.
--Weale.
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