# burlap

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɝlæp/ · frequency rank #42,041

## Definitions
1. A very strong, coarse cloth, made from jute, flax, or hemp, and used to make sacks, etc.

## 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **burp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/burlap-vs-burp)
- **Burma** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/burlap-vs-burma)
- **burly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/burlap-vs-burly)
- **bursa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/burlap-vs-bursa)
- **burqa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/burlap-vs-burqa)
- **burley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/burlap-vs-burley)
- **burka** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/burka-vs-burlap)
- **bureau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bureau-vs-burlap)
- **burial** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/burial-vs-burlap)
- **burglar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/burglar-vs-burlap)

## Common misspellings (9)
`bburlap`, `brulap`, `bulrap`, `buralp`, `burlapp`, `burllap`, `burlpa`, `burrlap`, `ubrlap`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/burlap