tarpaulin

Etymology

From tar + pall (“heavy canvas”) + -ing.

noun

1. (countable) A tarp, a heavy, waterproof sheet of material, often cloth, used as a cover or blanket.
   Throw a tarpaulin over that woodpile before it gets wet.
2. (countable, slang, archaic) A sailor.
3. (uncountable, obsolete) Any heavy, waterproof material used as a cover.
4. (uncountable, nautical, obsolete) Canvas waterproofed with tar, used as a cover.
5. A hat made of, or covered with, painted or tarred cloth, worn by sailors and others.

verb

1. To cover with a tarpaulin.
   "Cover it up! Don't touch it!" said the Professor. So we tarpaulined it according to his instructions, and there it lies. 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed