diaper

[dahy-per, dahy-uh-per]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR diaper ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a piece of cloth or other absorbent material folded and worn as underpants by a baby not yet toilet-trained.

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

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

verb (used with object)

to put a diaper on.

to ornament with a diaperlike pattern.

Nearby words

Origin of diaper

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

Related formsun·dia·pered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for diaper

On one summer lunch hour, Donna Ann Levonuk, 50, lifted a tub of diaper cream priced at $43.98—and then stashed it in her purse.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks|M.L. Nestel|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is one thing to insist a 2-year-old submit to a diaper change even if she is unwilling.
Is It Wrong for Parents to Lock Up Their Disabled Kids?|Elizabeth Picciuto|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even though my dad was the breadwinner, he always had this joke that he changed my diaper once, so she had a lot on her plate.
Patricia Arquette Uncut: Drunken Mischief with Johnny Depp, ‘True Romance’ Crush, and ‘Boyhood’|Marlow Stern|July 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At home, I changed her diaper and slotted her into her high chair.
When An Adopted Child Won’t Attach|Tina Traster|May 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

My nostrils have smelt the horrors of the (cloth) diaper pail.
Why Men Shouldn’t Wait To Have Kids|Conor P. Williams|March 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In this case, the diaper wrapped about the body of Morello's baby attracted the experienced eye of operative Gallagher.
The Barrel Mystery|William J. (William James) Flynn
Stem stitch contour: diaper work done in coral stitch, with a French knot filling in each alternate square.
Jacobean Embroidery|Ada Wentworth Fitzwilliam and A. F. Morris Hands
A decidedly yellow stain on the diaper occurs when there is jaundice.
The Mother and Her Child|William S. Sadler
The wall behind is richly carved with diaper designs, shewing much freedom and variety.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lincoln|A. F. Kendrick
She had changed Naples into a diaper of jewels sparkling softly in the void.
A Spirit in Prison|Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for diaper

diaper

noun

US and Canadian a piece of soft material, esp towelling or a disposable material, wrapped around a baby in order to absorb its excrementAlso 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

(tr) to decorate with such a pattern

Word Origin for diaper

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

Word Origin and History for diaper

diaper

mid-14c., "fabric with a repeated pattern of figures," from Old French diaspre "ornamental cloth; flowered, patterned silk cloth," perhaps via Medieval Latin diasprum from Medieval Greek diaspros "thoroughly white," or perhaps "white interspersed with other colors," from dia- (see dia-) + aspros "white."

Aspros originally meant "rough," and was applied to the raised parts of coins (among other things), and thus was used in Byzantine Greek to mean "silver coin," from which the bright, shiny qualities made it an adjective for whiteness. Modern sense of "underpants for babies" is continuous since 1837, but such usage has been traced back to 1590s.

diaper

late 14c., "to put a small, repeated pattern on," from Old French diaprer, variant of diasprer, from diaspre (see diaper (n.)). Meaning "to put a diaper on" (a baby) is attested by 1951. Related: Diapered; diapering.

diaper

noun

verb (used with object)

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Origin of diaper

Examples from the Web for diaper

diaper

noun

verb

Word Origin for diaper

diaper

diaper