What does drap mean?
"Drap" is a chiefly Scottish and Northern English verb meaning to deal in cloth — that is, to earn one's living selling fabric, much as a draper does. It belongs to the vocabulary of the textile trade, once a dominant industry in towns such as Paisley, Dundee, and the mill towns of northern England, and it survives today mostly in historical writing, dialect literature, and family recollections rather than in ordinary conversation. The word is closely related to "draper" (a cloth merchant) and "drapery" (both the cloth trade and the goods sold in it), all descending through Old French "drap," meaning cloth. Because "drap" differs by only a single letter from the far more common "drape" — to hang fabric loosely — readers may mistake one for the other; they are distinct words with distinct meanings. For anyone exploring Scots vocabulary or the history of the clothing trade, "drap" offers a compact reminder of how commerce shaped regional speech.
verbTo deal in cloth or drapery; to sell fabric as a trade.
- To deal in or sell cloth; to carry on business as a draper (chiefly Scottish and Northern English).
"His grandfather drapped in Paisley for over forty years before retiring."
"She learned to drap at her father's shop in Dundee."
"The family had drapped in woollens for three generations."
Before department stores, Scotland's cloth merchants were known simply as those who "drapped" — the verb lives on inside "draper," the old name for a fabric seller.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of drap
"Drap" comes from Old French "drap," meaning cloth, which itself is thought to derive from Late Latin "drappus." The same French source gave English both "draper" (a dealer in cloth) and "drapery." The verb took root especially in Scots and Northern English, where the cloth trade was central to local economies, and it has remained a regional term rather than entering general Standard English use.
How drap is actually used
This is a regional and largely historical word, found mainly in Scots and Northern English usage and tied to the textile trade. It is rare in modern everyday speech outside dialect contexts.
Easily confused with drap
"Drape" means to hang cloth loosely over something (or the cloth so hung), while "drap" is an older dialect term meaning to trade in cloth.