What does crape mean?
Crape is a thin fabric with a finely crinkled surface, made from silk, cotton, or wool, that has long been associated with mourning. In British and American custom, black crape was worn as clothing, veils, armbands, or hatbands to signal bereavement, and strips of it were hung over doorways, portraits, and monuments to mark a death in a household or institution. The word carries strong connotations of grief, formality, and Victorian-era solemnity, so today it appears mainly in historical fiction, period drama, and discussions of mourning etiquette rather than everyday speech. It should not be confused with "crepe", the modern spelling used for the general crinkled fabric and for the thin pancake, though the two share a common origin. Derived forms include the verb "to crape", meaning to cover something with the fabric, though this usage is now largely obsolete.
A thin, crinkled fabric of silk, cotton, or wool, especially when dyed black and worn as a sign of mourning; also a band or strip of this fabric draped over something to indicate bereavement.
"Mourning coaches were drawn by horses wearing plumes and crape."
Most common in historical and literary contexts describing nineteenth-century mourning dress.
To cover or adorn a person or object with crape.
"They craped the mirrors and pictures in the house during the week of mourning."
Largely obsolete; encountered only in older texts.
Rarely used in the plural since crape is typically treated as a mass noun referring to the fabric itself; the plural may appear when referring to individual pieces or garments made of it.
"The wardrobe held several black crepes and silks from her years of mourning."
Victorian mourners were expected to wear crape for years — Queen Victoria herself wore it for four decades after Prince Albert died.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crape
Crape entered English from French "crêpe" in the late seventeenth century, ultimately deriving from the Latin "crispus", meaning curled or wrinkled — a reference to the fabric's characteristic crimped texture. The same Latin root gives English words such as "crisp" and "crest". Over time, English settled on the spelling "crape" for the mourning fabric while "crepe" became the usual spelling elsewhere, preserving a subtle distinction between the two uses.
Related word forms
How crape is actually used
The word has a distinctly formal, old-fashioned, and somber register; it appears most often in historical writing, literature, and accounts of Victorian mourning customs. The spelling "crape" for the mourning fabric persists alongside "crepe", which is now standard for both the general fabric and the food item.
Easily confused with crape
"Crepe" is now the standard spelling for the fabric and for the thin pancake, while "crape" survives chiefly in the older, specific sense of black fabric worn for mourning.