The term “diaper” has an interesting history dating back to the year 1350 when it was first used in a story about a knight, spelled as “diapre.” Over time, it went through various forms such as dyapre, dyapere, dyaper, dyoper, dieper, dyeper, diapre, and dipar before settling on “diaper” in the seventeenth century. The word originates from the Old French “diapre,” which referred to a type of cloth with a repeating pattern, often used as diapers. This Old French term traces back to the Latin “diasprum” and the Ancient Greek “diaspros,” with “dia-” meaning “across” or “thoroughly” and “aspros” meaning “white,” reflecting the white color of the diapers. The prefix “dia” comes from Proto-Indo-European “dwo” meaning “two,” and “aspros” may also have Indo-European origins. In British slang, the word “nappy” is a diminutive of “napkin.”
