v. i. [ OE. lappen, lapen, AS. lapian; akin to LG. lappen, OHG. laffan, Icel. lepja, Dan. lade, Sw. läppja, L. lambere; cf. Gr. &unr_;, W. llepio. Cf. Lambent. ] 1. To take up drink or food with the tongue; to drink or feed by licking up something. [ 1913 Webster ]

The dogs by the River Nilus's side, being thirsty, lap hastily as they run along the shore. Sir K. Digby. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make a sound like that produced by taking up drink with the tongue. [ 1913 Webster ]

I heard the ripple washing in the reeds,
And the wild water lapping on the crag. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of lapping with, or as with, the tongue; as, to take anything into the mouth with a lap. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The sound of lapping. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ OE. lappen to fold (see Lap, n.); cf. also OE. wlappen, perh. another form of wrappen, E, wrap. ] 1. To fold; to bend and lay over or on something; as, to lap a piece of cloth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To wrap or wind around something. [ 1913 Webster ]

About the paper . . . I lapped several times a slender thread of very black silk. Sir I. Newton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To infold; to hold as in one's lap; to cherish. [ 1913 Webster ]

Her garment spreads, and laps him in the folds. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To lay or place over anything so as to partly or wholly cover it; as, to lap one shingle over another; to lay together one partly over another; as, to lap weather-boards; also, to be partly over, or by the side of (something); as, the hinder boat lapped the foremost one. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Carding & Spinning) To lay together one over another, as fleeces or slivers for further working. [ 1913 Webster ]

To lap boards,
shingles, etc., to lay one partly over another. --
To lap timbers, to unite them in such a way as to preserve the same breadth and depth throughout, as by scarfing. Weale. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To be turned or folded; to lie partly upon or by the side of something, or of one another; as, the cloth laps back; the boats lap; the edges lap. [ 1913 Webster ]

The upper wings are opacous; at their hinder ends, where they lap over, transparent, like the wing of a flay. Grew. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Lapped p. pr. & vb. n. Lapping. ] 1. To rest or recline in a lap, or as in a lap. [ 1913 Webster ]

To lap his head on lady's breast. Praed. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cut or polish with a lap, as glass, gems, cutlery, etc. See 1st Lap, 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. lappe, AS. læppa; akin to D. lap patch, piece, G. lappen, OHG. lappa, Dan. lap, Sw. lapp. ] 1. The loose part of a coat; the lower part of a garment that plays loosely; a skirt; an apron. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An edge; a border; a hem, as of cloth. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

If he cuts off but a lap of truth's garment, his heart smites him. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The part of the clothing that lies on the knees or thighs when one sits down; that part of the person thus covered; figuratively, a place of rearing and fostering; as, to be reared in the lap of luxury. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men expect that happiness should drop into their laps. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. That part of any substance or fixture which extends over, or lies upon, or by the side of, a part of another; as, the lap of a board; also, the measure of such extension over or upon another thing. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The lap of shingles or slates in roofing is the distance one course extends over the second course below, the distance over the course immediately below being called the cover. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Steam Engine) The amount by which a slide valve at its half stroke overlaps a port in the seat, being equal to the distance the valve must move from its mid stroke position in order to begin to open the port. Used alone, lap refers to outside lap. See Outside lap (below). [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The state or condition of being in part extended over or by the side of something else; or the extent of the overlapping; as, the second boat got a lap of half its length on the leader. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. One circuit around a race track, esp. when the distance is a small fraction of a mile; as, to run twenty laps; to win by three laps. See Lap, to fold, 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. In card playing and other games, the points won in excess of the number necessary to complete a game; -- so called when they are counted in the score of the following game. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Cotton Manuf.) A sheet, layer, or bat, of cotton fiber prepared for the carding machine. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. (Mach.) A piece of brass, lead, or other soft metal, used to hold a cutting or polishing powder in cutting glass, gems, and the like, or in polishing cutlery, etc. It is usually in the form of wheel or disk, which revolves on a vertical axis. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lap joint, a joint made by one layer, part, or piece, overlapping another, as in the scarfing of timbers. --
Lap weld, a lap joint made by welding together overlapping edges or ends. --
Inside lap (Steam Engine), lap of the valve with respect to the exhaust port. --
Outside lap, lap with respect to the admission, or steam, port. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To take into the mouth with the tongue; to lick up with a quick motion of the tongue. [ 1913 Webster ]

They 'II take suggestion as a cat laps milk. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; loins + &unr_; tumor. ] (Med.) A rupture or hernia in the lumbar regions. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Med.) A slender endoscope, containing fiber-optic viewing capability and miniature surgical devices, which can be inserted through a small incision in the abdominal wall, allowing a surgeon to perform minor surgery with minimal damage to the abdominal muscles. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. Laparotomy performed with a laparoscope. [ WordNet 1.5 ]