A"pron [OE. napron, OF. naperon, F. napperon, dim. of OF. nape, F. nappe, cloth, tablecloth, LL. napa, fr. L. mappa, napkin, table napkin. See Map.]
1.
An article of dress, of cloth, leather, or other stuff, worn on the fore part of the body, to keep the clothes clean, to defend them from injury, or as a covering. It is commonly tied at the waist by strings.
2.
Something which by its shape or use suggests an apron; as, (a) The fat skin covering the belly of a goose or duck.
[Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell. (b)
A piece of leather, or other material, to be spread before a person riding on an outside seat of a vehicle, to defend him from the rain, snow, or dust; a boot.
"The weather being too hot for the
apron."
Hughes. (c) Gun.
A leaden plate that covers the vent of a cannon.
(d) Shipbuilding
A piece of carved timber, just above the foremost end of the keel.
Totten. (e)
A platform, or flooring of plank, at the entrance of a dock, against which the dock gates are shut.
(f)
A flooring of plank before a dam to cause the water to make a gradual descent.
(g)
Mech. The piece that holds the cutting tool of a planer.
(h) Plumbing
A strip of lead which leads the drip of a wall into a gutter; a flashing.
(i)
Zool. The infolded abdomen of a crab.
© Webster 1913.