late 15c., mappe "bundle of yarn, etc., fastened to the end of a stick for cleaning or spreading pitch on a ship's decks," from Walloon (French) mappe "napkin," from Latin mappa "napkin" (see map, n.). Modern spelling by 1660s. Of hair, from 1847. Grose ["Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," Grose, 1788] has mopsqueezer "A maid servant, particularly a housemaid."

1709, from mop, n.. Related: Mopped; mopping.