lap1

 
Pronunciation: /lap/

noun

  • 1 (usually one's lap) the flat area between the waist and knees of a seated person: come and sit on my lap
  • the part of an item of clothing, especially a skirt or dress, covering the lap: she stood up and brushed the crumbs from the lap of her dress
  • 2 archaic a hanging flap on a garment or a saddle.

Phrases

fall (or drop) into someone's lap

(of something desirable) be acquired by or happen to someone without any effort being made on their part: women fall at his feet, power falls into his lap

in someone's lap

as someone’s responsibility: she dumped the problem in my lap

in the lap of the gods

(of the success of a plan or event) depending on factors that one cannot control; open to chance.

in the lap of luxury

in conditions of great comfort and wealth: Katie was living in the lap of luxury in Paris

Derivatives

lapful

noun (plural lapfuls)

Origin:

Old English læppa, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lap, German Lappen 'piece of cloth'. The word originally denoted a fold or flap of a garment (compare with lapel), later specifically one that could be used as a pocket or pouch, or the front of a skirt when held up to carry something (Middle English), hence the area between the waist and knees as a place where a child could be nursed or an object held