Meaning

noun a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned

noun drain consisting of a U-shaped section of drainpipe that holds liquid and so prevents a return flow of sewer gas

noun something (often something deceptively attractive) that catches you unawares

originFrom Middle English trappe, from Old English træppe, treppe (“trap, snare”) (also in betræppan (“to trap”)) from Proto-West Germanic *trappjā (“trap, snare”), from Proto-West Germanic *trappjan (“to step”), from Proto-Germanic *trapjaną (“to tread, stamp”), from Proto-Indo-European *drebʰ- (“to step, trip, trample”). Cognate with Dutch trap (“step, stair”), German Low German Trapp (“step,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0