papier-mâché

[ pey-per-muh-shey, -ma-; French pa-pyey-mah-shey ]

/ ˌpeɪ pər məˈʃeɪ, -mæ-; French pa pyeɪ mɑˈʃeɪ /

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.

Nearby words

paphian goddess, paphlagonia, paphos, papiamento, papier collé, papier-mâché, 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

"I don't hold with any make of papier-mache wheel," the Mogul insisted.
The Day's Work, Volume 1|Rudyard Kipling
Lura's was a papier-mache turkey, nearly as large as the one brought home at the same time by the market-boy.
The Night Before Christmas and Other Popular Stories For Children|Various
Each wheel of the locomotive was made with metallic rim and a centre portion made of wood or papier-mache.
Edison, His Life and Inventions|Frank Lewis Dyer and Thomas Commerford Martin
But we havent so much as a papier-mache Easter chick, objected Louise.
Winona of the Camp Fire|Margaret Widdemer

Our papier-mache manufacturers, as well as the Continental ones, should go to Yeddo to learn what can be done with paper.
The Art of Travel|Francis Galton

British Dictionary definitions 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