nappe

American  

[nap] / næp /

noun

1. Geology. a large mass of rock thrust a considerable distance along a nearly horizontal fault plane or in an overturned anticlinal fold.

2. Geometry. one of the two equal sections of a cone.

---

nappe British  

/ næp /

noun

1. a large sheet or mass of rock, commonly a recumbent fold, that has been thrust from its original position by earth movements

2. the sheet of water that flows over a dam or weir

3. 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

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

One nappe is what most people mean by “cone,” having the shape of a party hat.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

English naprun, from Old Fr. naperon, a derivative of nappe, cloth.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest

Une aultre nappe, ouvraige de Tournay, contenant vii aulnes de long iii aulnes de large.

From The First Governess of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria by Tremayne, Eleanor E.