Lap vs. Hem — What's the Difference?

A lap is a surface (usually horizontal) created between the knee and hips of a biped when it is in a seated or lying down position. The lap of a parent or loved one is seen as a physically and psychologically comfortable place for a child to sit.In some countries where Christmas is celebrated, it has been a tradition for children to sit on the lap of a person dressed as Santa Claus to tell Santa what they want for Christmas, and have their picture taken, but this practice has since been questioned in some of these countries, where this sort of contact between children and unfamiliar adults raises concerns.Among adults, a person sitting on the lap of another usually indicates an intimate or romantic relationship between the two; this is a factor in the erotic activity in strip clubs known as a lap dance, where one person straddles the lap of the other and gyrates their lower extremities in a provocative manner.A Lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar played in a sitting position with the instrument placed horizontally across the player's knees.

A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the garment.

The front area from the waist to the knees of a seated person.

An edge or border on a piece of cloth, especially a finished edge, as for a garment or curtain, made by folding an edge under and stitching it down.

The portion of a garment that covers the lap.

The height or level of the bottom edge of a skirt, dress, or coat; a hemline.

A hanging or flaplike part, especially of a garment.

A short cough or clearing of the throat made especially to gain attention, warn another, hide embarrassment, or fill a pause in speech.

An area of responsibility, interest, or control

To fold back and stitch down the edge of.

A part that overlaps.

To surround and shut in; enclose

The amount by which one part overlaps another.

To utter a hem.

One complete round or circuit, especially of a racetrack.

To hesitate in speech.

One complete length of a straight course, as of a swimming pool.

Used to fill in the gap of a pause with a vocalized sound.

A segment or stage, as of a trip.

An utterance or sound of the voice like "hem", often indicative of hesitation or doubt, sometimes used to call attention.

A length, as of rope, required to make one complete turn around something.

(sewing) The border of an article of clothing doubled back and stitched together to finish the edge and prevent it from fraying.

The act of lapping or encircling.

A rim or margin of something.

A continuous band or layer of cotton, flax, or other fiber.

In sheet metal design, a rim or edge folded back on itself to create a smooth edge and to increase strength or rigidity.

A wheel, disk, or slab of leather or metal, either stationary or rotating, used for polishing and smoothing.

To make the sound expressed by the word hem; to hesitate in speaking.

The act or an instance of lapping.

To make a hem.

The amount taken in by lapping.

(transitive) To put hem on an article of clothing, to edge or put a border on something.

The sound of lapping.

(transitive) To shut in, enclose, confine; to surround something or someone in a confining way.

A watery food or drink.

Obsolete form of 'em

To place or lay (something) so as to overlap another

Them

To lie partly over or on

An onomatopoetic word used as an expression of hesitation, doubt, etc. It is often a sort of voluntary half cough, loud or subdued, and would perhaps be better expressed by hm.

To fold (something) over onto itself

An utterance or sound of the voice, hem or hm, often indicative of hesitation or doubt, sometimes used to call attention.

To wrap or wind around (something); encircle.

The edge or border of a garment or cloth, doubled over and sewed, to strengthen it and prevent raveling.

To envelop in something; swathe

Border; edge; margin.

To join (pieces, as of wood) by means of a scarf or lap joint.

A border made on sheet-metal ware by doubling over the edge of the sheet, to stiffen it and remove the sharp edge.

(Sports) To get ahead of (an opponent) in a race by one or more complete circuits of the course, as in running, or by two or more lengths of a pool in swimming.

To make the sound expressed by the word hem; hence, to hesitate in speaking.

To convert (cotton or other fibers) into a sheet or layer.

To form a hem or border to; to fold and sew down the edge of.

To polish (a surface) until smooth.

To border; to edge

To hone (two mating parts) against each other until closely fitted.

Lap that forms a cloth border doubled back and stitched down

To lie partly on or over something; overlap.

Fold over and sew together to provide with a hem;

To form a lap or fold.

Utter `hem' or `ahem'

To wind around or enfold something.

To take in (a liquid or food) by lifting it with the tongue.

To wash or slap against with soft liquid sounds

To take in a liquid or food with the tongue.

To wash against something with soft liquid sounds.

The loose part of a coat; the lower part of a garment that plays loosely; a skirt; an apron.

An edge; a border; a hem, as of cloth.

The part of the clothing that lies on the knees or thighs when one sits down; that part of the person thus covered.

(figuratively) a place of rearing and fostering

The upper legs of a seated person.

The female pudenda.

(construction) A component that overlaps or covers any portion of itself or of an adjacent component.

The act or process of lapping.

That part of any substance or fixture which extends over, or lies upon, or by the side of, a part of another.

The state or condition of being in part extended over or by the side of something else; or the extent of the overlapping.

The amount by which a slide valve at its half stroke overlaps a port in the seat, being equal to the distance the valve must move from its mid stroke position in order to begin to open the port. Used alone, lap refers to outside lap (see below).

(sports) One circuit around a race track.

(swimming) The traversal of one length of the pool, or (less commonly) one length and back again.

In card playing and other games, the points won in excess of the number necessary to complete a game;—so called when they are counted in the score of the following game.

A sheet, layer, or bat, of cotton fiber prepared for the carding machine.

A piece of brass, lead, or other soft metal, used to hold a cutting or polishing powder in cutting glass, gems, etc. or in polishing cutlery, etc. It is usually in the form of a wheel or disk that revolves on a vertical axis.

The taking of liquid into the mouth with the tongue.

Liquor; alcoholic drink.

(transitive) To enfold; to hold as in one's lap; to cherish.

(transitive) To rest or recline in a lap, or as in a lap.

(transitive) To fold; to bend and lay over or on something.

(transitive) to wrap around, enwrap, wrap up

(transitive) to envelop, enfold

(intransitive) to wind around

(transitive) To place or lay (one thing) so as to overlap another.

(transitive) To polish, e.g., a surface, until smooth.

(intransitive) To be turned or folded; to lie partly on or over something; to overlap.

To overtake a straggler in a race by completing one more whole lap than the straggler.

To cut or polish with a lap, as glass, gems, cutlery, etc.

(ambitransitive) To take (liquid) into the mouth with the tongue; to lick up with a quick motion of the tongue.

To wash against a surface with a splashing sound; to swash.

Clipping of laparoscopic

The loose part of a coat; the lower part of a garment that plays loosely; a skirt; an apron.

An edge; a border; a hem, as of cloth.

The part of the clothing that lies on the knees or thighs when one sits down; that part of the person thus covered; figuratively, a place of rearing and fostering; as, to be reared in the lap of luxury.

That part of any substance or fixture which extends over, or lies upon, or by the side of, a part of another; as, the lap of a board; also, the measure of such extension over or upon another thing.

The amount by which a slide valve at its half stroke overlaps a port in the seat, being equal to the distance the valve must move from its mid stroke position in order to begin to open the port. Used alone, lap refers to outside lap. See Outside lap (below).

The state or condition of being in part extended over or by the side of something else; or the extent of the overlapping; as, the second boat got a lap of half its length on the leader.

One circuit around a race track, esp. when the distance is a small fraction of a mile; as, to run twenty laps; to win by three laps. See Lap, to fold, 2.

In card playing and other games, the points won in excess of the number necessary to complete a game; - so called when they are counted in the score of the following game.

A sheet, layer, or bat, of cotton fiber prepared for the carding machine.

A piece of brass, lead, or other soft metal, used to hold a cutting or polishing powder in cutting glass, gems, and the like, or in polishing cutlery, etc. It is usually in the form of wheel or disk, which revolves on a vertical axis.

The act of lapping with, or as with, the tongue; as, to take anything into the mouth with a lap.

The sound of lapping.

To rest or recline in a lap, or as in a lap.

To cut or polish with a lap, as glass, gems, cutlery, etc. See 1st Lap, 10.

To fold; to bend and lay over or on something; as, to lap a piece of cloth.

To wrap or wind around something.

To infold; to hold as in one's lap; to cherish.

To lay or place over anything so as to partly or wholly cover it; as, to lap one shingle over another; to lay together one partly over another; as, to lap weather-boards; also, to be partly over, or by the side of (something); as, the hinder boat lapped the foremost one.

To lay together one over another, as fleeces or slivers for further working.

To be turned or folded; to lie partly upon or by the side of something, or of one another; as, the cloth laps back; the boats lap; the edges lap.

To take up drink or food with the tongue; to drink or feed by licking up something.

To make a sound like that produced by taking up drink with the tongue.

To take into the mouth with the tongue; to lick up with a quick motion of the tongue.

The upper side of the thighs of a seated person;

An area of control or responsibility;

The part of a piece of clothing that covers the thighs;

A flap that lies over another part;

Movement once around a course;

Touching with the tongue;

Lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another

Pass the tongue over;

Move with or cause to move with a whistling or hissing sound;

Take up with the tongue;

Wash or flow against;