Word: diaper Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwísder. Ancient Greek διά (diá) Ancient Greek δια- (dia-) Proto-Indo-European *h₂esp-der.? Latin asperbor. Ancient Greek ἄσπρος (áspros) Byzantine Greek δίασπρος (díaspros)bor. Medieval Latin diasprabor. Old French dyaprebor. Middle English dyaper English diaper From Middle English dyaper, diapre, dyapre, from Old French diapre, dyapre, a variant of dyaspre, diaspre (“ornamental silk cloth embellished with decorative patterns”), from Medieval Latin diaspra, diasprum (“a type of rich, valuable silken cloth”), probably from Byzantine Greek δίασπρος (díaspros, “very white; pure white”, adjective), from δια- (dia-, “across”) + ἄσπρος (áspros, “white”). Pronunciation: /ˈdaɪ(ə).pə/, /ˈdaɪ(ə).pəɹ/ 1. An absorbent garment worn around the crotch that retains the wearer's urine and feces, often worn by a baby or young child who is not yet toilet trained, by an adult who is incontinent (who wets the bed), or under extreme working conditions without access to a toilet; a nappy. Labels: Canada, India, Philippines, US, countable, uncountable Example: cloth diaper, disposable diaper, nighttime diaper, swim diaper Example: A bag of baby-clothes, containing 1 ſheet, 1 ſhi[r]t, 1 bedgown, 12 diapers, 2 child's bedgowns, 2 child's ſhirts, 2 child's robes, 2 child's nightcaps and a wrapper. 2. A container that absorbs and collects (retains) liquid or waste material, similar to a diaper (noun sense 1). Labels: Canada, US, colloquial, countable, humorous, sometimes, uncountable Example: engine diaper, meat diaper, period diaper, rubber diaper Example: Pendent straps in front and behind support a diaper, or its equivalent, during the period of the menses. 3. A piece of clothing that resembles the shape of a diaper (noun sense 1) but lacks the absorbency. Labels: Canada, US, colloquial, countable, derogatory, humorous, possibly, uncountable Example: Gandhi was the holiest man in the world and ONLY holy men know how to fight in this world. Gandhi only needs a little diaper and no shoes. He does not need very much food. He doesn't ask for any of the riches of the whole world. Example: I suppose the average American or European, if asked about Mahatma Gandhi, would summarize his knowledge as follows: Gandhi is a thin, brown toothless Indian, dressed in a diaper, who lives on goat's milk and vegetables, fasts frequently, and has been twisting the British lion's tail for a quarter of a century inside and outside of jail. 4. A textile fabric having a repeating pattern, especially of diamonds or flowers, formed by alternating directions of thread. Labels: countable, historical, uncountable Example: Near-synonym: diamond twill Example: Diaper table clothes the peece containing xx.yards xl.s 5. A repeating geometrical or (often stylized) floral pattern, usually of small diamonds evenly spaced, that decorates a flat surface, sometimes in bas-relief; diaperwork. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The troilled piece, that woven like a courſe gauze, and the lining in a diaper pattern, preſent ſamples which prove that the art of weaving was far advanced at that period. Example: […] a mode of treatment which is also—and perhaps in a much greater degree—frequent in early painting, where a flat ground of gold or bright colour, broken and enriched with stamped or painted diaper, outlines and relieves the subject. 6. A repeating geometrical or floral pattern, used to cover the surface of a shield and forming the ground for any charges. Labels: countable, historical, uncountable Example: Near-synonym: fur Example: Note, that you may haue diaper on any two, three, or more of theſe, or any other their like, in one Bordure, and that not onely Bordures, but aſso Fields of coat-armours are found diapered. […] And albeit things hauing life and ſenſe, or their parts, may bee borne diapered; yet Plants, Fruits, Leaves, Flowers, and other Vegetables, are (in the opinion of ſome Armoriſts) judged to be more fit for ſuch kinde of bearing. This kinde of bearing of diaper in coat-armour, is ſometimes ſeene in Coates of France, and Belgia, but very rare or neuer in England. 7. A towel, napkin, or tablecloth made from the diaper fabric (noun sense 4). Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable Example: Let one attend him with a silver basin, […] / Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper. Example: 3 Pˢ Sheeting ditto. 1 Pˢ Cambrick. 2 Pˢ Table Diaper. 64 Pˢ Buckrams.