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dia·per 
Audio Help [dahy-per, dahy-uh-per] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [dahy-per, dahy-uh-per] Pronunciation Key –noun
–verb (used with object)
| 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. |
[Origin: 1300–50; ME diapre < AF dia(s)p(r)e < ML diasprus made of diaper < MGk díaspros pure white, equiv. to Gk di- di3 + MGk áspros white]
] | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Diaper
To learn more about Diaper visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| di·a·per
Audio Help (dī'ə-pər, dī'pər) Pronunciation Key
n.
tr.v. di·a·pered, di·a·per·ing, di·a·pers
[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).] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
diaper
c.1330, from O.Fr. diapre "ornamental cloth," from M.L. diasprum, from Medieval Gk. diaspros, from dia- "entirely, very" + aspros "white." Aspros originally meant "rough," and was applied to the raised parts of coins (among other things), and thus was used in Byzantine Gk. to mean "silver coin," from which the bright, shiny qualities made it an adj. for "whiteness." Modern sense of "underpants for babies" is continuous since 1837, but such usage has been traced back to 1596.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| diaper | |
noun | |
| 1. | garment consisting of a folded cloth drawn up between the legs and fastened at the waist; worn by infants to catch excrement |
| 2. | a fabric (usually cotton or linen) with a distinctive woven pattern of small repeated figures |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
Diaper
Di"a*per\, n. [OF. diaspre, diapre, diaspe, sort of figured cloth, It. diaspro jasper, diaspo figured cloth, from L. jaspis a green-colored precious stone. See Jasper.]1. Any textile fabric (esp. linen or cotton toweling) woven in diaper pattern. See 2. 2. (Fine Arts) Surface decoration of any sort which consists of the constant repetition of one or more simple figures or units of design evenly spaced. 3. A towel or napkin for wiping the hands, etc. Let one attend him with a silver basin, . . . Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper. --Shak. 4. An infant's breechcloth.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Diaper
Di"a*per\, v. t. 1. To ornament with figures, etc., arranged in the pattern called diaper, as cloth in weaving. "Diapered light." --H. Van Laun. Engarlanded and diapered With in wrought flowers. --Tennyson. 2. To put a diaper on (a child).| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Diaper
Di"a*per\, v. i. To draw flowers or figures, as upon cloth. "If you diaper on folds." --Peacham.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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