diaphanous

[dahy-af-uh-nuh s]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR diaphanous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent.

delicately hazy.

Origin of diaphanous

1605–15; < Medieval Latin diaphanus < Greek diaphan(ḗs) transparent, equivalent to diaphan-, stem of diaphaínein to show through (see dia-, -phane) + -ēs adj. suffix) + -ous

Related formsdi·aph·a·nous·ly, adverbdi·aph·a·nous·ness, nounnon·di·aph·a·nous, adjectivenon·di·aph·a·nous·ly, adverbnon·di·aph·a·nous·ness, nounsem·i·di·aph·a·nous, adjectivesem·i·di·aph·a·nous·ly, adverbsem·i·di·aph·a·nous·ness, nounun·di·aph·a·nous, adjectiveun·di·aph·a·nous·ly, adverbun·di·aph·a·nous·ness, noun

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

Related Words for diaphanous

clear, delicate, filmy, flimsy, gauzy, gossamer, light, pellucid, pure, sheer, thin, translucent, transparent, chiffon

Examples from the Web for diaphanous

Contemporary Examples of diaphanous

As the audience enters, the diaphanous curtains onstage are gently blowing in the breezes of the Amalfi coast.
Tennessee Williams' Forgotten Masterpiece
Janice Kaplan
January 25, 2011
From mesh and lace to the sheer and diaphanous, transparency was a clear favorite on the runways.
'Molto Sexy' in Milan
Isabel Wilkinson
September 29, 2009

Historical Examples of diaphanous

She was clad only in the diaphanous robes of her calling, and she was stacked.
Pagan Passions
Gordon Randall Garrett
The kind of bench which Alma-Tadema usually fills with diaphanous maidens.
The Lure of the Mask
Harold MacGrath
Polly glanced at her diaphanous pajamas and nodded cheerfully.
Across the Mesa
Jarvis Hall
Coridon must be visionary and diaphanous, or he is no Coridon for me.
Olla Podrida
Frederick Marryat (AKA Captain Marryat)
The crystalline lens is voluminous, spherical, and diaphanous.
The Ocean World:
Louis Figuier

British Dictionary definitions for diaphanous

diaphanous

adjective

(usually of fabrics such as silk) fine and translucent

Derived Formsdiaphanously, adverbdiaphanousness or diaphaneity (ˌdaɪəfəˈniːɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for diaphanous

C17: from Medieval Latin diaphanus, from Greek diaphanēs transparent, from diaphainein to show through, from dia- + phainein to show

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 diaphanous

adj.

1610s, from Medieval Latin diaphanus, from Greek diaphanes "transparent," from dia- "through" (see dia-) + phainesthai, middle voice form (subject acting on itself) of phainein "to show" (see phantasm).