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Can anyone say how these two words, so similar in sound though not meaning, developed? napier (NAY-pee-uhr) noun
One in charge of table linen in a royal household.
[Apparently from Anglo-Norman nape (tablecloth).] and nape
"back of the neck," c.1300, of unknown origin, perhaps from O.Fr. hanap "a goblet," in reference to the hollow at the base of the skull. Online Etymology Dictionary
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A) Where did you get that definition of 'napier'? And 2) Where did you get that etymology of 'napier'? I found 'napier' in the B&M OEDn and in a list of early occupations. In both cases the reference is to 'naperer' with no etymology given, either for 'napier' or 'naperer'.
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she probly dint get it here, but..
napier, n.
[Prob. < NAPE n.2 + -IER 2, perh. after Middle French nappier (1374) or the occupational surname Napier (also Naper; both widespread in England from the 12th cent.). Cf. earlier NAPERER n.]
= NAPERER n.
[1855 Edinb. Rev. Apr. 356 Draper and Naper, or Napier, deserve explanation. The former word in its early use seems to have meant simply a cloth merchant; the latter's dealings were not with drapery, but with napery only.] 1880 J. H. BURTON Reign Q. Anne I. i. 39 The office of napier being attached to a manor held in grand sergeantry by a noble house. 1988 Amer. Hist. Rev. 93 349 [In 1130] Torell the napier was excused thirty shillings.
OED, DRAFT REVISION June 2003
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when i first saw the word, (it was a word of the day this week) i thought of John Napier, mathmatician, inventer of napiers bones, an early mechanical adding machine (the first one was made from pieces of ivory, hence the name.
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napier, n.
[Prob. < NAPE n.2
This NAPE n.2, is that the same nape as the one that's on the back of one's neck or is it related to, e.g., napkin and napron?
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nope, not neck; it's an obsolete term for tablecloth, apparently related to napkin. < Anglo-Norman nape, nap and Middle French nape (c1140 in Old French; French nappe) < classical Latin mappa MAP n.1, with dissimilation of initial consonant (see note). The post-classical Latin forms napa (from c1160 in British sources), nappa (first half of the 13th cent. in British sources) are prob. < or after Anglo-Norman and Old French. Cf. NAPKIN n.edit: in classical L., mappa is towel, napkin; later to become map, chart, etc. (drawing a map on a napkin?  )
Last edited by tsuwm; 04/07/07 02:20 AM.
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What I wanna know is, by what process did the M become an N. Are there any other examples of this?
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What I wanna know is, by what process did the M become an N. Are there any other examples of this? dissimilation. -ron o.
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A) Where did you get that definition of 'napier'?
And
2) Where did you get that etymology of 'napier'?
From the W.A.D. for last Tuesday: the 3rd.
Thanks--this is really interesting! Maps on napkins? :-)
Helen--I'd forgotten about napiers bones--thank you.
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napier also is the source of "apple pie order" --a mondegreen of sorts, for "folded linens/clothes" (ie NEAT) that got mis heard/'translated into something' that made some sort of sence.
(i think tsuwm gave details once--long ago)
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