Definition of "nappe" [nappe]

• A sheet of water flowing over a dam or similar structure. (noun)
• Geology A large sheetlike body of rock that has been moved far from its original position. (noun)
• Mathematics Either of the two parts into which a cone is divided by the vertex. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Mollie had a red and white checkered oilcloth nappe on her round oak pedestal table in the kitchen."
• "It is dominated by the crystalline Aar Massif and extends as far as the Helvetic nappe system in the Wengernalp region."
• "Most of this sediment cover slipped to the north during the formation of the Alps, leaving the Helvetian nappe exposed."