APRON, originally "napron," but corrupted from "a napron" to "an apron" (O.Fr. naperon, dim. of nape, nappe, table-cloth). An article of dress worn to protect the front of the clothes. The apron is part of the ceremonial dress of Freemasons, and bishops and deans. The word is also used technically for the protecting ledge below the entrance to a dock, the strip of lead beneath a gutter, etc.