nappe
Americannoun
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Geology. a large mass of rock thrust a considerable distance along a nearly horizontal fault plane or in an overturned anticlinal fold.
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Geometry. one of the two equal sections of a cone.
noun
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a large sheet or mass of rock, commonly a recumbent fold, that has been thrust from its original position by earth movements
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the sheet of water that flows over a dam or weir
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geometry either of the two parts into which a cone (sense 2) is divided by the vertex
Etymology
Origin of nappe
1905–10, < French: literally, tablecloth, cloth; Old French nappe, nape < Latin mappa; cf. napkin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Napron hails from the French word naperon, which is an iteration of "nappe," or "a little cloth."
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2022
Each half of a double cone is called a nappe.
From Textbooks ● May 6, 2020
While I write you this I bask in golden December sunshine and dry, crisp, mild frost—over a great nappe of recent snow, which flushes with the "tenderest" lights.
From The Letters of Henry James, Vol. II by Henry James
Napier, from Fr. nappe, cloth, meant the servant who looked after the napery.
From The Romance of Names by Ernest Weekley
The world is well amended, thought I, with your Sidership, such another fortie yeeres nappe together as Epemenides had, would make you a perfect wise man.
From The Vnfortunate Traveller, or The Life Of Jack Wilton With An Essay On The Life And Writings Of Thomas Nash By Edmund Gosse by Edmund Gosse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
