Napping with Napien

Caught Napping
by Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik
“Nap” originally meant any degree of sleep; the term wasn’t reserved for short periods of slumber like it is today. It’s based on the Middle English nappen , meaning “to doze.” But nap has several other meanings as well:
: : In the world of textiles, nap refers to the texture of fabric, leather, carpet, or similar materials. Vacuuming a rug helps to “raise its nap” when the beater brush and suction work together to straighten out the fibers, giving the rug a more full appearance and feel.
: : Chefs nap a cooked dish when they cover it with sauce or gravy. This comes from the French napper, meaning “cover” (similarly, nappe is Old French for “tablecloth”). So the next time you douse your French fries in ketchup, you can smugly say that you’ve napped them.
: : Those who like to play might enjoy nap , a card game related to bridge and whist. The version played in Britain is quite different than the one that’s become popular in Japan, but the names of both games are short for “Napoleon.” Was the Little Corporal himself a fan of the game? No, it wasn’t introduced until a few decades after his death.
: : The 20-franc gold piece once used in France was also called a nap in honor of Napoleon III, whose profile appeared on the coins from 1852 until 1870. Even when the design was changed on later mintings, the French still referred to the coin as the nap (much like we call a five-cent-piece a nickel, even though it contains no nickel).
: : Finally, there’s Nap Lajoie, a pro baseball player who was the first star of the fledgling American League. He won the first Triple Crown in AL history, leading the league in batting average, RBIs, and home runs. When he was traded to Cleveland in 1902, he not only served as player/coach, but the team adopted his name, becoming the Naps. It wasn’t until after he retired in 1914 that the team took its current name, the Indians.