Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

diapers

 - 4 dictionary results

dia⋅per

[dahy-per, dahy-uh-per]
–noun
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.
–verb (used with object)
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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To diapers
di·a·per   (dī'ə-pər, dī'pər)   
n.  
    1. A folded piece of absorbent material, such as paper or cloth, that is placed between a baby's legs and fastened at the waist to contain excretions.

    2. A similar piece of material, worn by incontinent adults.

    3. A white cotton or linen fabric patterned with small, duplicative diamond-shaped figures.

    4. A piece of such cloth.

    5. Such a pattern.

    1. A white cotton or linen fabric patterned with small, duplicative diamond-shaped figures.

    2. A piece of such cloth.

    3. Such a pattern.

tr.v.   di·a·pered, di·a·per·ing, di·a·pers
  1. To put a diaper on.

  2. To weave or decorate in a diamond-shaped pattern.


[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 © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

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
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2diaper
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: di·a·pered; di·a·per·ing /-p(&-)ri[ng]/
: to put on or change the diaper of (an infant)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see diapers on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: