[f. LAP v.1 + -ING1.] The action of LAP v.1 in various senses.
1. Taking up liquid with the tongue.
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 3236. Alle fore lapynge of blude of my lele knyghtez.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 287/2. Lappynge of howndys, lambitus.
1611. Cotgr., Lappement, a lapping, or licking vp.
2. Of water: Breaking gently against a solid body.
1855. Longf., Hiaw., III. 100. The little Hiawatha … heard the lapping of the water.
1867. Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., Lapping, the undulations occasioned in the waves by the paddle-wheels of a steam-boat.
1876. Miss Braddon, J. Haggard’s Dau., III. 19. The gentle lapping of summer waves upon the pebbly beach.
1884. E. Ingersoll, in Harper’s Mag., Aug., 392/2. Hearkening to the gentle lapping of the wavelets.
