lapwise

English

Etymology

From lap +‎ -wise.

Adverb

lapwise (not comparable)

1. On a lap.

   Despite their name, laptops seem to rarely be used lapwise.

   • 1986, Peter De Vries, Peckham's Marbles, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, page 91:

     The man rushed through it just in time to leave beside the road a volcanic eruption that to have been the recipient of which, lapwise, would have made the trip memorable indeed.

   • 1991, Robert Hitt Neill, Don't Fish Under the Dingleberry Tree (And Other Philosophies of Life), Leland, M.S.: Mississippi River Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 201:

     Thank goodness the cat took about half the coffee—which she certainly deserved. Things could have been a lot worse for me had she not been situated exactly where she was, lapwise, and anyway her hair grew back rather quickly.

   • 2023 December 19, Molly Young, “My Evening at Reading Rhythms, a Party for Bookish Introverts”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-12-29:

     Reading postures varied. Some attendees sat cross-legged with a book resting lapwise. Others were curled up on a sofa.