burlap – English noun declension

English noun forms of burlap

Noun: burlap
Singularburlap
Pluralburlaps

Sample Sentences

  • “A ranger responded and found two whole chickens in a burlap sack in a hot spring,” she said. A cooking pot was also found nearby. [2020 November 11, Johnny Diaz, Concepción de León, “3 Visitors Banned From Yellowstone After Cooking Chickens in Hot Spring”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:]

Etymology

Uncertain. Attested since about 1695 in the spelling bore-lap, borelapp. Likely from burel (“a coarse woollen cloth”) + lap (“flap of a garment”), where the first element is from Middle English burel, borel. Others feel that "its character and time of appearance makes a Dutch origin very likely" (and the earliest references as to its importation from the Netherlands); the NED suggests derivation from Dutch boenlap (“coarse, rubbing linen or cloth”) with the first element perhaps confused with boer (“farmer, peasant”). Bense similarly suggests derivation from an unattested Dutch *boerenlap, where boeren would be used in the sense of “coarse” as in boerenkost (“coarse, heavy food as is eaten by farmers”) or boerenpraat (“coarse, rural speech”). See: Middle English Nouns 'burel'.