The story
- Latin · derived frommappa“napkin”
- Old French · derived fromnapperon
- Middle English · inherited fromnaperoun
- English todayapron
Rebracketing of napron (a napron → an apron), from Middle English naperoun, napron, apron, from Old French napperon, diminutive of nappe (“tablecloth”), from Latin mappa (“napkin”). For other similar cases of rebracketing, see adder, daffodil, newt, nickname, orange, trickle, umpire.
Words from the same roots
Latinmappa all →
mapmopnape
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.