Jump to:

• draper
  draper

  noun

  a dealer in cloth; a retail merchant or clerk who sells piece goods.
• Draper
  Draper

  noun

  Henry, 1837–82, U.S. astronomer.

draper

¹ American  

[drey-per] / ˈdreɪ pər /

noun

British.

1. a dealer in cloth; a retail merchant or clerk who sells piece goods.

2. a retail merchant or clerk who sells clothing and dry goods.

---

Draper ² American  

[drey-per] / ˈdreɪ pər /

noun

1. Henry, 1837–82, U.S. astronomer.

2. his father John William, 1811–82, U.S. chemist, physiologist, historian, and writer; born in England.

3. Ruth, 1884–1956, U.S. diseuse and writer of character sketches.

---

draper ¹ British  

/ ˈdreɪpə /

noun

1. a dealer in fabrics and sewing materials

---

Draper ² British  

/ ˈdreɪpə /

noun

1. Henry. 1837–82, US astronomer, who contributed to stellar classification and spectroscopy

2. his father, John William. 1811–82, US chemist and historian, born in England, made the first photograph of the moon

---

Draper Scientific  

/ drā′pər /

1. American astronomer who developed methods for photographing celestial objects and phenomena. He became the first to photograph a stellar spectrum (1872) and a nebula (1880).

---

Etymology

Origin of draper

1325–75; Middle English < Anglo-French; Old French drapier, equivalent to drap cloth + -ier -ier ²; see -er ²

Example Sentences

A draper kneeling behind her shook out the hem while the costume designer looked on with satisfaction.

From New York Times • Jun. 28, 2023

It was founded as "Kennington & Jenner" in 1838 by Charles Jenner, a linen draper, and Charles Kennington.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2023

At the same time, Leeuwenhoek mostly continued with his careers as a draper and a world-renowned expert on developing microscopes.

From Salon • Jan. 2, 2023

She was born Polissena Marguerita Nelli in January 1524, the second child of a draper called Piero and his wife Francesca, who lived in the San Felice area of Florence.

From The Guardian • Oct. 19, 2019

The draper sat upon the cobbles of the street, his hair lank, and a daughter of perhaps my age wandered about through the wreckage, picking up silks and attempting to drag them back inside.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson