The Etymology of Lapel
Lapel is a young English word for an old fashion idea. It is formed by adding the diminutive ending -el to lap, a now-obsolete English noun meaning a flap or fold of cloth — the same sense preserved in the lap of a coat or the lap of a saddle. The base word descends straightforwardly from Old English læppa (fold, hem, ragged edge of a garment), from Proto-Germanic *lappô, with cognates across the family: German Lappen still means a rag or cloth-flap, Dutch lap a patch, Swedish läpp a piece. The garment feature itself emerged in late 17th- and 18th-century European tailoring as men's coats began to be cut so that the upper edges of the front opening folded back permanently against the chest, exposing a contrast lining and the collar beneath. By 1789 English speakers were calling these folded-back facings lapels — little flaps. The word has changed almost nothing since.