Etymology Map
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Apron

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a protective garment worn over the front of one's clothes

Where does the word "apron" come from? It comes from Latin mappa, passing through Old French before entering English (1400s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
mappa
Latin · classical
"napkin, cloth"
a napkin or cloth; the magistrate presiding at the Circus started the chariot races by dropping a white mappa (the same word later gave 'map')
2
Stage 2 of 3
naperon
Old French · 1200s
"small cloth"
a small cloth, diminutive of nape 'tablecloth', from mappa; related to English 'napkin'
3
Stage 3 of 3
apron
English · 1400s
"protective garment"
Middle English napron, a cloth worn in front; 'a napron' was heard as 'an apron', and by the 1500s the n had gone
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Read the full story

Apron’s story begins in Latin: mappa meant “napkin, cloth.” A napkin or cloth; the magistrate presiding at the Circus started the chariot races by dropping a white mappa (the same word later gave 'map'). By 1200s, the word had taken hold in Old French as naperon. A small cloth, diminutive of nape 'tablecloth', from mappa; related to English 'napkin'. It reached English by 1400s as apron. Middle English napron, a cloth worn in front; 'a napron' was heard as 'an apron', and by the 1500s the n had gone. Today, apron means a protective garment worn over the front of one's clothes.