Added 8 October 2026

paper

/ˈpeɪ̯.pə/ noun

In Latin: charta Wiktionary

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

A sheet material typically used for writing on or printing on (or as a non-waterproof container), usually made by draining cellulose fibres from a suspension in water.
Draw on the paper! Not on the walls!
Ellipsis of newspaper; anything used as such (such as a newsletter or listing magazine).
Read all about it in this morning's paper!
Ellipsis of wallpaper.
The paperhangers had just finished hanging the paper in the dining room when the interior decorator walked in and exclaimed that it was the wrong color.

To apply paper to.
to paper the hallway walls
To document; to memorialize.
After they reached an agreement, their staffs papered it up.
To fill (a theatre or other paid event) with complimentary seats.

From Middle English paper, from Anglo-Norman paper, from Old Catalan paper, borrowed from Latin papȳrus (and given the Catalan suffix -er), from Ancient Greek πάπυρος (pápuros).