Definition of DRAPE

drape

Plural: drapes

Noun

  • hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
  • the manner in which fabric hangs or falls
    • "she adjusted the drape of her skirt"
  • a sterile covering arranged over a patient's body during a medical examination or during surgery in order to reduce the possibility of contamination
  • A curtain; a drapery.
  • The way in which fabric falls or hangs.
  • A member of a youth subculture distinguished by its sharp dress, especially peg-leg pants (1950s: e.g. Baltimore, MD). Antonym: square.
  • A dress made from an entire piece of cloth, without having pieces cut away as in a fitted garment.

Verb

Verb Forms: draped, draping, drapes

  • To arrange fabric gracefully over something.
  • arrange in a particular way
    • "drape a cloth"
  • place casually
    • "The cat draped herself on the sofa"
  • cover as if with clothing
  • cover or dress loosely with cloth
    • "drape the statue with a sheet"
  • To cover or adorn with drapery or folds of cloth, or as with drapery.
  • To spread over, cover.
  • To rail at; to banter.
  • To make cloth.
  • To design drapery, arrange its folds, etc., as for hangings, costumes, statues, etc.
  • To hang or rest limply.

Examples

  • He would drape his highest-scoring words across triple letter squares.
  • I draped my towel over the radiator to dry.
  • to drape a bust, a building, etc.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English drape (“a drape”, noun), from Old French draper (“to drape; to full cloth”), from drap (“cloth, drabcloth”), from Late Latin drappus, drapus (“drabcloth, kerchief”), a word first recorded in the Capitularies of Charlemagne, probably from Frankish *drapi, *drāpi (“that which is fulled, drabcloth”, literally “that which is struck or for striking”), from Proto-Germanic *drapiz (“a strike, hit, blow”) and Proto-Germanic *drēpiz (“intended for striking, to be beaten”), both from *drepaną (“to beat, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreb- (“to beat, crush, make or become thick”). Cognate with English drub (“to beat”), North Frisian dreep (“a blow”), Low German drapen, dräpen (“to strike”), German treffen (“to meet”), Swedish dräpa (“to slay”). More at drub.

Scrabble Score: 8

drape: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
drape: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
drape: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

drape: valid Words With Friends Word