nap n.1

"downy or woolly surface of cloth," mid-15c., noppe, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German noppe "nap, tuft of wool," probably introduced by Flemish cloth-workers. Cognate with Old English hnoppian "to pluck," ahneopan "pluck off," Old Swedish niupa "to pinch," Gothic dis-hniupan "to tear."

"have a short sleep," Middle English nappen, from Old English hnappian (Mercian hneappian) "to doze, slumber, sleep lightly," a word of unknown origin, apparently related to Old High German hnaffezan, German dialectal nafzen, Norwegian napp. In Middle English also "be sleepy, be inattentive or careless." Related: Napped; napping.

"short spell of sleep," especially during daylight hours, mid-14c., from nap (v.). With take (v.) from c. 1400.

"to furnish with a nap, raise the nap of," 1610s, from nap (n.1). Earlier in a now-obsolete sense of "shear or clip off the nap of" (a fabric), late 15c., noppen, from Middle Dutch. Related: Napped; napping.