English word origin

Etymology of chap

Clipping of chapman (“dealer, customer”) in 16th-century English.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A man, a fellow. · A customer, a buyer. · A child.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of chapman (“dealer, customer”) in 16th-century English.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "chapman",
        "t": "dealer, customer"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of chapman (“dealer, customer”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "chapman",
      "chapman#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Pennsylvania German",
      "lang_code": "pdc",
      "word": "Tschaepp",
      "sense": "guy"
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A man, a fellow.",
        "A customer, a buyer.",
        "A child."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "dialectal",
        "Southern-US"
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A cleft, crack, or chink, as in the surface of the earth, or in the skin. · A division; a breach, as in a party. · A blow; a rap.

verb

Of the skin, to split or flake due to cold weather or dryness. · To cause to open in slits or chinks; to split; to cause the skin of to crack or become rough. · To strike, knock.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English chappen (“to split open, burst, chap”), of uncertain origin. Compare Middle English choppen (“to chop”), Dutch kappen (“to cut, chop, hack”). Perhaps related to chip.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionchappenenm · to split open, burst, chap
Cognate mentionchoppenenm · to chop
Cognate mentionkappennl · to cut, chop, hack

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "chappen",
        "t": "to split open, burst, chap"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English chappen (“to split open, burst, chap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "unc",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "uncertain"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "choppen",
        "t": "to chop"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English choppen (“to chop”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
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        "2": "kappen",
        "t": "to cut, chop, hack"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kappen (“to cut, chop, hack”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "chappen",
      "chappen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "choppen",
      "choppen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "kappen",
      "kappen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "chip",
      "chip#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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      "pos": "noun",
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        "A blow; a rap."
      ],
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        "obsolete",
        "Scotland"
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        "To strike, knock."
      ],
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        "intransitive",
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

The jaw. · One of the jaws or cheeks of a vice, etc.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Northern English chafts (“jaws”). Compare also Middle English cheppe (“one side of the jaw, chap”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Cognate mentioncheppeenm · one side of the jaw, chap

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "enm",
        "2": "cheppe",
        "t": "one side of the jaw, chap"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English cheppe (“one side of the jaw, chap”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "chafts",
      "chafts#English"
    ],
    [
      "cheppe",
      "cheppe#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The jaw.",
        "One of the jaws or cheeks of a vice, etc."
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "in-plural",
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      ],
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Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗

noun

Clipping of chapter (“division of a text”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Shortening.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for chap →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Y2hhcA