Nappy

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈnæpi/
• Rhymes: -æpi

Probably shortened from napkin (but possibly a corruption of French nappe, since napkin is already a diminutive).

Full definition of nappy

Noun

1. (British, Ireland, Australia, South Africa) An absorbent garment worn by a baby who does not yet have voluntary control of his or her bladder and bowels or by someone who is incontinent; a diaper.
• 1995, Jennie Lindon, Lance Lindon, Leandra Negrini, Caring for Young Children, %22nappies%22+-intitle:%22nappy%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VfO6T6jeK8nomAXBmdnCCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nappy%22|%22nappies%22%20-intitle%3A%22nappy%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 60,You will notice that disposable nappies are sold in boy and girl versions. They vary in where the thickest padding is provided.
• 2005, Medical Association of Malawi, Malawi Medical Journal: The Journal of Medical Association of Malawi, Volume 17, %22nappies%22+-intitle:%22nappy%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22nappy%22|%22nappies%22+-intitle:%22nappy%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JUe7T_Fq8OKYBdGjgaoJ&redir_esc=y page 39,Other equipment required was soap for hand washing and washing of nappies, a washing line for the drying of nappies,....
• 2008, Isabelle Young, Healthy Travel: Asia & India, Lonely Planet, 2nd edition, %22nappies%22+-intitle:%22nappy%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VfO6T6jeK8nomAXBmdnCCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nappy%22|%22nappies%22%20-intitle%3A%22nappy%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 275,You could burn disposable nappies (not a very practical option); otherwise, it′s probably best to take a supply of large plastic bags or nappy sacks with you and to dispose of them as thoughtfully as you can.
• 2009, Chris Arnold, Ethical Marketing and The New Consumer, %22nappies%22+-intitle:%22nappy%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VfO6T6jeK8nomAXBmdnCCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nappy%22|%22nappies%22%20-intitle%3A%22nappy%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 55,In response we mailed hundreds of nappies to students in halls. On the nappy was a simple message, IT'S A LOT EASIER TO PUT ON A CONDOM.

Synonyms

• US, Canada diaper
• British, archaic napkin

Verb

1. (transitive) To put a nappy on.The mother nappied the baby.

From nap + -y.

Adjective

1. Having a nap (of cloth etc.); downy; shaggy.
• 1950, US District Courts, US Court of Claims, US Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, Federal Supplement, Volume 89, %22nappies%22+-intitle:%22nappy%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22nappy%22|%22nappies%22+-intitle:%22nappy%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lEq7T5eDHsahiAfInJyCCQ&redir_esc=y page 438,The original accused device, as was the patented device, was made of cotton flannel with a nappy surface on each side,....
2. (US, slang) Of hair: tightly curled or twisted; frizzy (occasionally specifically in reference to Blacks' textured hair).
• 1987, Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography, %22nappies%22+-intitle:%22nappy%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JUe7T_Fq8OKYBdGjgaoJ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nappy%22|%22nappies%22%20-intitle%3A%22nappy%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 30,We would talk about each other′s ugly, big lips and flat noses. We would call each other pickaninnies and nappy-haired so-and-so′s.
• 2006, Ronald L. Jackson II, Scripting the Black Masculine Body, %22nappies%22+-intitle:%22nappy%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JUe7T_Fq8OKYBdGjgaoJ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nappy%22|%22nappies%22%20-intitle%3A%22nappy%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 52,For example, some Black people′s corporeal zones include nappy hair texture, wide noses, thick lips, and darker-than-white skin complexion, all of which come into play when an individual is interacting with a cultural “Other.”
• 2010, Nadine George-Graves, Urban Bush Women: Twenty Years of African American Dance Theater, Community Engagement, and Working It Out, %22nappies%22+-intitle:%22nappy%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VfO6T6jeK8nomAXBmdnCCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nappy%22|%22nappies%22%20-intitle%3A%22nappy%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 50,She had decided to just cover her hair with a scarf because Aunt Bell was “old school” and Zollar did not want to have to explain why she had nappy hair.
3. Inclined to sleep; sleepy.to feel nappy

From Middle English nap, from Old English hnæp, hnæpp, hnæpf ("cup, bowl"), from Proto-Germanic *hnappaz ("bowl, goblet, cup"). See hanaper.

Alternative forms

• nappie

Noun

1. A shallow, flat-bottomed earthenware or glass bowl with sloping sides.
• 1902, Charles Austin Bates, The Art and Literature of Business, Volume 4, %22nappie%22|%22nappies%22+earthenware+OR+glass+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22nappy%22|%22nappie%22|%22nappies%22+earthenware+OR+glass+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5Ky8T9_tFtCgiQfLsNzCDw&redir_esc=y page 328,Suppose you advertise a “five-inch glass nappy.” It doesn′t tell a reader anything — a woman especially. She can′t tell how big five inches are anyway ; but just say, “large imitation cut glass fruit saucers at thirty cents a dozen,” and get your packers ready.
• 1909, Milton Osman Jones, Guide to Successful Squab Raising, %22nappie%22|%22nappies%22+earthenware+OR+glass+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22nappy%22|%22nappie%22|%22nappies%22+earthenware+OR+glass+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4KS8T7PAI8qfiQeP9sjjDw&redir_esc=y page 11,The use of a glazed earthenware nesting-dish, or “nappy, ” 9 inches in diameter across the top, is strongly advised.
• 1914, Southern Pharmaceutical Journal, Volume 7, %22nappie%22|%22nappies%22+earthenware+OR+glass+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22nappy%22|%22nappie%22|%22nappies%22+earthenware+OR+glass+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ipy8T5DPMrGZiQex7d3EDw&redir_esc=y page 626,Place a slice of pineapple in a fruit nappy, place on it a No. 10 cone of vanilla ice cream and pour over it a ladle of chop suey dressing, crowning it with a freshly opened lycher nut or a cherry.

Adjective

1. (of a drink) Foamy; having a large head.
2. (of a horse) Nervous, excitable.
• 1928, Siegfried Sassoon, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man, Penguin 2013, p. 161:‘He's a mutton-fisted beggar; but the horse is a bit nappy, and young Roger'll be the man to keep him going at his fences.’
• 1948, John Edward Hance, Better Horsemanship, %22nappier%22|%22nappiest%22+earthenware+OR+glass+OR+horse+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22nappy%22|%22nappier%22|%22nappiest%22+earthenware+OR+glass+OR+horse+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QrG8T7ekCaetiQeTn-jBDw&redir_esc=y page 73,I do feel, however, that in talking lightheartedly of making rearing, pulling or nappy horses into useful members of equine society I am treading on very dangerous ground.
• 2006, Karen Coumbe, Karen Bush, The Complete Equine Emergency Bible, %22nappier%22|%22nappiest%22+earthenware+OR+glass+OR+horse+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QrG8T7ekCaetiQeTn-jBDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nappy%22|%22nappier%22|%22nappiest%22%20earthenware%20OR%20glass%20OR%20horse%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 151,Note that it is possible that a horse is not in fact being nappy at all, but is suffering the onset of muscle disorders: it is up to the rider to interpret the signs correctly.
• 2007, Michael Peace, Lesley Bayley, The Q and a Guide to Understanding Your Horse, %22nappier%22|%22nappiest%22+earthenware+OR+glass+OR+horse+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QrG8T7ekCaetiQeTn-jBDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nappy%22|%22nappier%22|%22nappiest%22%20earthenware%20OR%20glass%20OR%20horse%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 66,When riders are too dominant various problems can arise: a horse may become nappy, or refuse to go forward.

Noun

1. (obsolete) A kind of strong ale; nappy ale.
• 1827, R. Charlton, Newcastle Improvements, in T. Thompson, et al. A Collection of Songs, Comic and Satirical, Chiefly in the Newcastle Dialect, %22nappie%22|%22nappies%22+earthenware+OR+glass+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4KS8T7PAI8qfiQeP9sjjDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nappy%22|%22nappie%22|%22nappies%22%20earthenware%20OR%20glass%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 151,Aw′ve seen when we′ve gyen iv a kind, freenly way
  To be blithe ower a jug o′ good nappy—
• 1857, Hugh Miller, The Cruise of the Betsey, 2009, Echo Library, %22nappier%22|%22nappiest%22+earthenware+OR+glass+OR+ale+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=c7e8T9DPKse3iQf7jd3NDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22nappy%22|%22nappier%22|%22nappiest%22%20earthenware%20OR%20glass%20OR%20ale%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 248,Weel do I mind that in a′ our neeborly meetings—bridals, christenings, lyke-wakes an′ the like,—we entertained ane anither wi′ rich nappy ale;.... But the tea has put out the nappy; an′ I have remarked, that by losing the nappy we lost baith ghaists an′ fairies.