[dahy-per, dahy-uh-per] 
| 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. |
| 3. | Also called diaper pattern. such a pattern, originally used in the Middle Ages in weaving silk and gold. |
| 4. | to put a diaper on. |
| 5. | to ornament with a diaperlike pattern. |
| di·a·per (dī'ə-pər, dī'pər) n.
[Middle English, a patterned fabric, from Old French diapre, diaspre, from Medieval Latin diasprum, a white silken material, from Medieval Greek diaspros, pure white : dia-, intensive pref.; see dia- + aspros, white (probably from Latin asper, rough).] |
diaper
in architecture, surface decoration, carved or painted, generally composed of square or lozenge shapes but also of other simple figures, each of which contains a flower, a spray of leaves, or some such device. The pattern is repetitive and is usually based on a square grid. It was a common form of sculptural wall enrichment in Gothic art. An example is the 14th-century pulpitum, or choir screen, of Lincoln cathedral, Lincolnshire, England.
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