diaper

[ dahy-per, dahy-uh-per ]
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noun
  1. a piece of cloth or other absorbent material folded and worn as underpants by a baby not yet toilet-trained.

  2. Also called diaper cloth . a linen or cotton fabric with a woven pattern of small, constantly repeated figures, as diamonds.

  1. Also called diaper pattern. such a pattern, originally used in the Middle Ages in weaving silk and gold.

verb (used with object)
  1. to put a diaper on.

  2. to ornament with a diaperlike pattern.

Origin of diaper

1
1300–50; Middle English diapre <Anglo-French dia(s)p(r)e <Medieval Latin diasprus made of diaper <Medieval Greek díaspros pure white, equivalent to Greek di- di-3 + Medieval Greek áspros white

Other words from diaper

  • un·dia·pered, adjective

Words Nearby diaper

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use diaper in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for diaper

diaper

/ (ˈdaɪəpə) /


noun
  1. US and Canadian a piece of soft material, esp towelling or a disposable material, wrapped around a baby in order to absorb its excrement: Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): nappy

    • a woven pattern on fabric consisting of a small repeating design, esp diamonds

    • fabric having such a pattern

    • such a pattern, used as decoration

verb
  1. (tr) to decorate with such a pattern

Origin of diaper

1
C14: from Old French diaspre, from Medieval Latin diasprus made of diaper, from Medieval Greek diaspros pure white, from dia- + aspros white, shining

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012