drape

[dreyp]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR drape ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), draped, drap·ing.

to cover or hang with cloth or other fabric, especially in graceful folds; adorn with drapery.

to adjust (curtains, clothes, etc.) into graceful folds, attractive lines, etc.

to arrange, hang, or let fall carelessly: Don't drape your feet over the chair!

Medicine/Medical, Surgery. to place cloth so as to surround (a part to be examined, treated, or operated upon).

(in reinforced-concrete construction) to hang (reinforcement) in a certain form between two points before pouring the concrete.

to put a black cravat on (a flagstaff) as a token of mourning.

verb (used without object), draped, drap·ing.

to hang, fall, or become arranged in folds, as drapery: This silk drapes well.

noun

a curtain or hanging of heavy fabric and usually considerable length, especially either of a pair for covering a window and drawn open and shut horizontally.

either of a pair of similar curtains extending or draped at the sides of a window, French doors, or the like as decoration.

manner or style of hanging: the drape of a skirt.

Origin of drape

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French draper, derivative of drap cloth (see drab¹)

Related formsdrap·a·ble, drape·a·ble, adjectivedrap·a·bil·i·ty, drape·a·bil·i·ty, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for drape

sprawl, don, swathe, hang, dangle, cover, cloak, fold, enclose, envelop, wrap, dress, clothe, model, suspend, droop, spread-eagle, drop, line, roll

Examples from the Web for drape

Contemporary Examples of drape

Sneaker and clothing brands routinely dole out buckets of dough to drape their swag over popular cultural characters.
Would You Pay $100 For a 50 Cent Bulge? Men’s Undies Get Expensive
James Joiner
December 23, 2014
A large part of a fashion model's job is physical, moving and shaping her body to highlight the drape of the clothing.
Does Fashion Week Exploit Teen Models?
Jennifer Sky
September 14, 2014
Riveters log hundreds of hours making the banners that drape the stadium throughout the season.
Portland Is Ground Zero for the Best Women’s Soccer in the World
Evelyn Shoop
June 30, 2014
“Yoga has helped increase my range of motion and flexibility and has addressed my imbalances from the scoliosis,” says Dr. Drape.
Yoga Is Good for You. But Is It Medicine?
DailyBurn
June 27, 2014
Dr. Drape recognizes that she will always have to manage her scoliosis.
Yoga Is Good for You. But Is It Medicine?
DailyBurn
June 27, 2014

Historical Examples of drape

Then, after doing up her hair, I began to drape a material around her.
The Choice of Life
Georgette Leblanc
The rock is grim when it is bare; it wants verdure to drape it if it is to be lovely.
Expositions of Holy Scripture
Alexander Maclaren
Next to it, the drape framing the window was not hanging right.
The Gallery
Roger Phillips Graham
Religion, indigestion, priggishness, or discontent may drape the panes.
Practical Mysticism
Evelyn Underhill
With a one-finger gesture he signals the nurse to drape her rug over the chair.
The House of Torchy
Sewell Ford

British Dictionary definitions for drape

drape

verb

(tr) to hang or cover with flexible material or fabric, usually in folds; adorn

to hang or arrange or be hung or arranged, esp in folds

(tr) to place casually and loosely; hangshe draped her arm over the back of the chair

noun

(often plural) a cloth or hanging that covers something in folds; drapery

the way in which fabric hangs

Word Origin for drape

C15: from Old French draper, from drap piece of cloth; see drab 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for drape

c.1400, "to ornament with cloth hangings;" mid-15c., "to weave into cloth," from Old French draper "to weave, make cloth" (13c.), from drap "cloth, piece of cloth, sheet, bandage," from Late Latin drapus, perhaps of Gaulish origin (cf. Old Irish drapih "mantle, garment"). Meaning "to cover with drapery" is from 1847. Meaning "to cause to hang or stretch out loosely or carelessly" is from 1943. Related: Draped; draping.

1660s, from drape (v.). Jive talk slang for "suit of clothes" is attested from 1945.

drape in Medicine

drape

[drāp]

v.

To cover, dress, or hang with or as if with cloth in loose folds.

n.

A cloth arranged over a patient's body during an examination or treatment or during surgery, designed to provide a sterile field around the area.