Word Confusion: Crape versus Crepe

Posted February 3, 2022 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
6 Nov 2022

I had no idea that crape versus crepe were interchangeable?!

Crape primarily revolves around mourning. I’ve never thought of it as a fabric or pancake.

Now crepe I have thought of as an inches-wide roll of paper for party decorations, crinkled fabric, and those yummy French pancakes.

Even more of a surprise, both crape and crepe are transitive verbs as well as nouns. Yep, I learn something new every day!

And now I’m hungry for some crêpe suzette!

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Crape	Crepe
Crape-soled Chukka Boot.	Crêpe Suzette by jlastras is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Part of Grammar:
Noun; Verb, transitive Plural for the noun: crapes, crepes, crêpes Gerund: craping Third person present verb: crapes Past tense or past participle: craped Present participle: craping Alternative spelling: crepe, crêpe	Noun; Verb, transitive Plural for the noun: crepes, crêpes, crapes Gerund: creping Third person present verb: crepes, crêpes, crapes Past tense or past participle: creped Present participle: creping Alternative spelling: crape
Noun: [Archaic spelling of] Crepe Usually a black band or piece of this material, worn as a token or mourning Verb, transitive: Crepe Provide with a covering or cause to be covered To make (the hair) curly	Noun: A light, thin fabric with a wrinkled surface [Also crepe rubber] Hard-wearing wrinkled rubber, used for the soles of shoes A thin, light, delicate pancake, often wrapped around a sweet or savory filling A usually black band or piece of this material, worn as a token or mourning A type of narrow crinkled paper Verb, transitive: To cover, clothe, or drape with crepe
Examples:
Noun: Velvet, however, is not capable of being made the basis for pictures so elaborate and microscopically accurate as those produced by the yuzen process on silk crape or habutaye. He wears crape on his sleeve. They did a slight roughening of the surface as though it had received the impression of coarse linen or crape before baking. The latter part of the century saw a decline in demand for black crape. “Afterward, the men yanked our torn crapes off our feet, untied us, and chased us out of their village, waving their spears and machetes, and screaming after us” (Beah). Verb, transitive: We should crape the mirror. The window is craped in the latest fashion. Her hair was craped by her mother.	Noun: She was wearing a gorgeous pink silk crepe blouse. Jake loves his crepe-rubber soles. For breakfast we had crêpes. The portobello crêpe comes with grilled mushrooms, mozzarella, roasted potato, and superbly pitched pesto, and is a subtle delight. They’re wearing a crepe band on their biceps as a sign of respect. Get some pink and red crepe paper for the party. Verb, transitive: They had creped the door.
Derivatives:
Adjective: crapelike, crapy Noun: crape jasmine, crape myrtle	Adjective: crepey, crêpey, crêpy
History of the Word:
Early 16th century, from the French crêpe.	Late 18th century, from the French, which is from the Old French crespe meaning curled, frizzed, from the Latin crispus.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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