'apronful' originates from Modern English, specifically the compound 'apron' + suffix 'ful', where 'apron' meant a cloth or protective front garment and 'ful' meant 'full of' or 'having the amount of'.

'apron' changed from Middle English 'napron', which came from Old French 'naperon' (a diminutive of 'nappe' meaning cloth), ultimately from Late Latin 'mappa' meaning 'cloth'. By rebracketing ('a napron' → 'an apron') the initial n was lost in Modern English; 'apronful' developed later by adding the Old English-derived suffix 'ful' to 'apron'.

Initially, 'napron'/'naperon' referred to a small cloth or napkin; over time 'apron' came to refer to the garment worn over the front of the body, and 'apronful' evolved to mean 'the quantity that an apron can hold' or figuratively 'a large amount'.