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.

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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.

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draper ¹ British  

/ ˈdreɪpə /

noun

1. a dealer in fabrics and sewing materials

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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

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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).

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Etymology

Origin of draper

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

Example Sentences

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 poet’s third husband was Richard Prowse, of Exeter, a prominent draper who was also the city’s bailiff, sheriff, alderman, and mayor, as well as a Member of Parliament.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 5, 2019

Becoming a drapers apprentice, aged 14, in 1856, he came to London and landed a job as a salesman for the prestigious Oxford Street draper Peter Robinson.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2014

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