trape

Meanings

nountrape (plural trapes)

obsoleteA messy or untidy woman.
Hard was his fate in this I own, ¶ Nor will I for the trapes atone; ¶ Indeed to guess I am not able, ¶ What made her thus inexorable[…]
1678, Samuel Butler, Hudibras

verbtrape (third-person singular simple present trapes, present participle traping, simple past and past participle traped)

present singular third person trapes · participle present traping · participle past traped · past traped

intransitiveTo drag.
No, that coat's too big; it'll trape along the ground if you wear it.
1 more example
"I expect that's right," Frest admitted. "You going to drop right down—or be you hunting and traping along? You'n Delia?"
1920, Raymond S. Spears, chapter 6, in Diamond Tolls
intransitiveTo run about idly or like a slattern.

Origin

Proto-Indo-European*dreb-
Proto-Germanic*trap-
Old Englishtræppe /treppe“trap, snare”
Medieval Latin*trappa
Englishtrape

Perhaps via Medieval Latin *trappa, from Old English træppe /treppe (“trap, snare”), from Proto-Germanic *trap-, from Proto-Indo-European *dreb-, from *der- (“to walk, step”).

More words from Medieval Latin, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →