Added 9 October 2026

diaper

/ˈdaɪ(ə).pə/ noun

Latin root: diaspra Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about diaper at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

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. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
cloth diaper, disposable diaper, nighttime diaper, swim diaper
A container that absorbs and collects (retains) liquid or waste material, similar to a diaper (noun sense 1).
engine diaper, meat diaper, period diaper, rubber diaper
A piece of clothing that resembles the shape of a diaper (noun sense 1) but lacks the absorbency.

To put diapers on someone.
Diapering a baby is something you have to learn fast.
To draw geometrical or floral patterns, as upon cloth.

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”).