A’pron, n.

(ā′/purn or ā′/prun) (Synop., § 130), n. [Prov. Eng. nappern, Fr. naperon, a large cloth, augm. of nappe, cloth, table-cloth, from Lat. nappa, napkin, table-napkin, L. Lat. nappa; O. Fr. apronière, a woman's apron, apronier, a blacksmith's apron. The Ir. aprun and Gael. aparan, aparran, are taken from the Eng.]

1. A cloth, or piece of leather, worn on the fore part of the body, to keep the clothes clean, or defend them from injury.
2. The fat skin covering the belly of a goose or duck. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
3. A piece of leather, or other thing, to be spread before a person riding in a gig, chaise, or sulky, to defend him from the rain, snow, or dust; a boot. “The weather being too hot for the apron.” Hughes.
4. (Gun.) A flat piece of lead that covers the vent of a cannon. Campbell.
5. (Naval Arch.) A piece of carved timber, just above the foremost end of the keel. Totten.
6. A platform, or flooring of plank, at the entrance of a dock, against which the dock-gates are shut, and also forming part of a dam.
7. (Mech.) The piece that holds the cutting-tool of a planer.