[*** \mathrm{lap}^1] |lap|

1. (usually one's lap) the flat area between the waist and knees of a seated person:

〖通例one's ～〗 膝 (!座った姿勢での腰から膝がしらまでの部分; → knee)

e.g. come and sit on my lap.

the part of an item of clothing, especially a skirt, covering the lap:

(スカートなどの)膝の部分

e.g. she stood up and brushed the crumbs from the lap of her dress.

2. archaic a hanging flap on a garment or a saddle.

fall into someone's lap (also drop into someone's lap)

(of something unexpected) come someone's way without any effort having been made:

e.g. not many reporters are lucky enough to have stories fall into their laps.

as someone's responsibility:

e.g. she dumped the problem in my lap.

in conditions of great comfort and wealth:

e.g. Katie was living in the lap of luxury in Paris.

lapful |-ˌfo͝ol| noun (plural lapfuls)

Old English læppa, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lap, German Lappen ‘piece of cloth’. The word originally denoted a fold or flap of a garment (compare with lapel), later specifically one that could be used as a pocket or pouch, or the front of a skirt when held up to carry something (Middle English), hence the area between the waist and knees as a place where a child could be nursed or an object held.

[*** \mathrm{lap}^2] |lap|

1. one circuit of a track or racetrack:

(トラック競技などの)1周, ラップ; 〖単数形で〗(旅行などの)1行程(leg); (計画･事業の)1段階

e.g. heavy rain stopped the race after 18 laps

e.g. as modifier : a lap record.

a stage in a swim consisting of two lengths (or one length) of a pool:

(プールの)1往復

e.g. everyone did ten laps of the pool.

a part or section of a journey or other undertaking:

e.g. we caught a cab for the last lap of our journey.

2. an overlapping or projecting part:

重なっている［突き出た］部分; 重なり合う部分の寸法

e.g. cut to the depth and width of the lap.

the amount by which one thing overlaps or covers a part of another:

e.g. they have sufficient lap to act compositely.

Metallurgy a defect formed in rolling when a projecting part is accidentally folded over and pressed against the surface of the metal.

3. a single turn of rope, thread, or cable around a drum or reel.

(糸･ひもなどの)一巻き

a layer or sheet, typically wound on a roller, into which cotton or wool is formed during its manufacture.

4. (in a lapping machine) a rotating disk with a coating of fine abrasive for polishing.

(宝石･刃物などを磨く)研磨盤, ラップ盤

a polishing tool of a special shape, coated or impregnated with an abrasive.

verb (laps, lapping, lapped)

1. with object overtake (a competitor in a race) to become one or more laps ahead:

〈人〉を1周抜く; 〈トラックなど〉を1周する

e.g. she lapped all of her rivals in the 3,000 meters.

no object (of a competitor or vehicle in a race) complete a lap, especially in a specified time:

(トラックを)1周する

e.g. he lapped two tenths of a second faster than anyone else.

2. with object (lap someone/something in) literary enfold or swathe a person or thing, especially a part of the body, in (something soft):

｟書･文｠ 【やわらかい物などで】〈人の身体･物など〉を包む, 囲む(wrap) «in» ; 〈喜びが〉〈人〉を包み込む

e.g. he was lapped in blankets

e.g. figurative : I was accustomed to being lapped in luxury.

3. no object project beyond or overlap something:

(ある範囲の外まで)伸びる, はみ出す(over)

e.g. the water lapped over the edges.

4. with object polish (a gem or a metal or glass surface) with a lapping machine:

〈ガラス･宝石など〉を研磨盤で切る［磨く］

e.g. (as noun lapping) : the honing and lapping of ring gauges.

Middle English (as a verb in the sense ‘coil, fold, or wrap’): from lap1. Sense 1 of the noun and verb date from the mid 19th century.

[*** \mathrm{lap}^3] |lap|

verb (laps, lapping, lapped) with object

1. (of an animal) take up (liquid) with the tongue in order to drink:

〈動物などが〉ピチャピチャ飲む; ぺろぺろなめる(up)

e.g. the cat was lapping up a saucer of milk.

(lap something up) accept something eagerly and with obvious pleasure:

A〈情報･注目･称賛など〉を(よく吟味せず)受け入れる, 楽しむ, 信じる.

e.g. she's lapping up the attention.

2. (of water) wash against (something) with a gentle rippling sound:

〈波が〉 【岸･ボート･足元などに】ひたひたと寄せる, 打ち寄せる «against, at, around, over»

e.g. the waves lapped the shore

e.g. no object : the sound of the river lapping against the banks.

noun in singular

the action of water washing gently against something:

〖the ～〗 (波などが)ひたひたと寄せること［音］(lapping)

e.g. listening to the comfortable lap of the waves against the shore.

lapper noun

Old English lapian, of Germanic origin; related to Middle Low German and Middle Dutch lapen.