Nappys

Its funny to me that americans call nappys dipers i wonder wher that came from ? well i guess there are many diffrent names given to these wonderfull things that we wear for pleasure and dare i say itr for medical reasons !!

It"s funny but my friend finds "nappies" much cuter than "diapers". The word 'diapers' has much more of an emotional meaning for me... but what am I gonna do, argue? I think not...

Being English it will always be nappies for me too. I get more of an exciting feeling/thrill inside when I either read or say nappy rather than diaper but perhaps it's because that's what I grew up wearing or certainly hearing.

Funny since being on the forum I have called my diaper nappies more than once. you sure get some strange looks when you do. giggle my dadda just laughs at me when i do.

I can't rember exactly but I read somwhere it was the name of a woven fabric the article even had a shakesphere referance funny the word came from UK but they are called nappies over there. The first couple of times I saw that word I thought they were talking about napkins

Nappies/Nappy (UK) are traditionally made of terry towelling, a fabric with a 'Nap'.

Nap refers to the raised pile made during the weaving process - threads that stand up from the surface.

They are squares of terry towelling, folded in half diagonally into a triangle, the longest side placed around a baby's waist with a crossover, the remaining point of the triangle passes up between the baby's legs to the waist crossover and secured there with a nappy pin, a large 'safety pin' with a sliding lock to prevent it from becoming unfastened accidentally.

Diapers (US) most commonly refer to shaped padded garments, shaped similarly to the UK nappy but having a more generous cut for the legs, secured at the sides with adhesive strips though other fastenings may be used. They are made mainly of cellullose I understand, some with a filling of gel to absorb urine.

We do have diapers in the UK, colloquially known as Disposable Nappies and in fact they are the most common protection now, but still referred to as nappies. Presently the trash disposal authorities are promoting a swing back to terry towelling because of landfill shortage but citing cost benefits. Professional launderers offer cleaning services. Nursing authorities promote the use of terry towelling nappies too, citing that they are kinder to the baby's skin than cellulose.

Bless nappies they sound so much better than diapers!!!

Not to be pedantic, but the first word I remember looking up in the dictionary was "diaper."

Though Merriam-Webster and the OED both have the word as out of the Middle Greek "diaspros," meaning "all-white," they both acknowledge the mutation of the denotation. Eventually, "diaper" came to mean a rich silk fabric featuring a repeated ornamental design, usually of diamonds. The pattern was called a "diaper pattern." (I believe Henry Miller used the phrase "the trees were diapered with oranges," meaning studded in a pattern.) At some point, white diaper cloth, cotton or linen, became woven or impressed with a small diamond pattern. (This may have been the precursor to today's birdseye fabric.) The fabric lent its name to the diaper, and a new connotation was born (and presumably immediately cloth-diapered).

Another related etymology has "diaper" stemming from the same root as the Greek root of "disperse," which, in an earlier form, was "Diaspora." Apparently, the scattering of the pattern across the fabric triggered the new usage.

Sorry this was so academic, but I do love the word "diaper" so. Hope this is responsive to your query and not deemed a hijacking of your thread.

I find it curious that nappies are made of terry and diapers are guaze or flannel.

In Australia we call them nappies, or nappy for one. But I think because so much of the Abdl content we get is from USA and other overseas countries, us Aussie littles are getting in the habit of calling them diapers too, just cos every forum post, story, video, discussion we are part of calls them diapers.

AllenK said:-

I can't rember exactly but I read somwhere it was the name of a woven fabric the article even had a shakesphere referance funny the word came from UK but they are called nappies over there. The first couple of times I saw that word I thought they were talking about napkins

Further to my previous post on the subject, the terms nappies or nappy did come from the word napkin which in turn came from the French nape, napery, meaning table linen with a 'nap' - a raised or 'terry' cloth.

It's become further used to denote a small piece of cloth or paper (serviette) used at table to wipe the fingers and mouth, or protect clothing from dropped food , a sanitary napkin, a face (wash) cloth etc., and even a handkerchief.

The William Shakespeare reference is primarily from Othello, Part 3 Scene 3 but there are probably 10 or so other references in his works.