English Reference

Word

diaper

Phoneticsdi·a·per

US/ˈdaɪpɝ/

UK/dˈaɪpɐ/

Definitions

01absorbent garment

A2

n. a soft piece of material worn by a baby or an adult to catch waste from the body.

n. an absorbent garment worn by infants or incontinent adults to retain excreta. Primarily American English; equivalent to the British 'nappy'.

“He changed the baby's diaper and put her down for a nap.”

“The nurse ensured that the elderly patient was provided with high-absorbency diapers to maintain skin integrity and comfort throughout the night.”

American English

Synonyms

nappy

02decorative pattern

C2 · Science

n. a repeating pattern of small shapes, like diamonds, used to decorate a wall or fabric.

n. a repeating geometric or stylised floral pattern, typically consisting of small diamonds, used in textiles, masonry, or heraldry.

“The old church walls were decorated with a beautiful stone diaper pattern.”

“The architect specified a diaperwork design for the brick facade to create visual interest through alternating textures and shadows.”

Technical

Synonyms

patterndiaperwork

Etymology

From Middle English dyaper, diapre, dyapre, from Old French diapre, dyapre, a variant of dyaspre, diaspre (“ornamental silk cloth embellished with floral or decorative geometrical 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”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Domains

ArchitectureArt

This entry

Level
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference