DRAPER  , one who deals in

cloth or textiles generally . The Fr. drap, cloth, from which drapier and Eng . " draper " are derived, is, of obscure origin . It is possible that the Low Lat. drappus or trappus (the last form giving the Eng . " trappings ") may be connected with words such as " drub, Ger. trefj'en, beat; the original sense would be fulled cloth . " Drab," dull, pale, brown, is also connected, its first meaning being a cloth of a natural undyed colour . The Drapers' Company is one of the great livery companies of the city of London . The fraternity is of very early origin . Henry Fitz-Alwyn (d . 1212 ?), the first mayor of London, is said to have been a draper . The first charter was granted in 1364 . The Drapers' Gild was one of the numerous subdivisions of the clothing trade, and appeared to have been confined to the retailing of woollen cloths, the linen-drapers forming in the 15th century a separate fraternity, which disappeared or was merged in the greater company .

It is usual for drapers to combine the

sale of " drapery," i.e. of textiles generally, with that of millinery, hosiery, &c . In Wills v . Adams (reported in The Times, London, Nov . 20, 1908), the term " drapery " in a restrictive covenant was held not to include all goods that a draper might sell, such as furs or fur-lined goods .