papier-mâché
[ pey-per-muh-shey, -ma-; French pa-pyey-mah-shey ]
/ ˌpeɪ pər məˈʃeɪ, -mæ-; French pa pyeɪ mɑˈʃeɪ /
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noun
a substance made of pulped paper or paper pulp mixed with glue and other materials or of layers of paper glued and pressed together, molded when moist to form various articles, and becoming hard and strong when dry.
adjective
made of papier-mâché.
easily destroyed or discredited; false, pretentious, or illusory: a papier-mâché façade of friendship.
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Nearby words
- paphlagonia,
- paphos,
- papiamento,
- papier collé,
- papier-mache,
- papilionaceous,
- papilla,
- papilla mammae,
- papilla of corium,
- papillar
Also paper-mâché.
Origin of papier-mâché
1745–55; < French: literally, chewed paper
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for papier-mache
papier-mâché
/ (ˌpæpjeɪˈmæʃeɪ, French papjemɑʃe) /
noun
a hard strong substance suitable for painting on, made of paper pulp or layers of paper mixed with paste, size, etc, and moulded when moist
adjective
made of papier-mâché
Word Origin for papier-mâché
C18: from French, literally: chewed paper
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
papier-mache
also papier mache, 1753, from French papier-mâché, literally "chewed paper," from Old French papier "paper" (see paper (n.)) + mâché "compressed, mashed," from past participle of mâcher, literally "to chew," from Late Latin masticare "masticate" (see mastication).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper