English
nappy
Pronunciation Noun

nappy (plural nappies)

  1. (British, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand) 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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=KsDnADq7QVgC&pg=PA60&dq=%22nappy%22|%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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=xV9QAQAAIAAJ&q=%22nappy%22|%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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=33KRpsPmv_4C&pg=PA275&dq=%22nappy%22|%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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=i6hmJTO-580C&pg=PA55&dq=%22nappy%22|%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 Verb

nappy (nappies, present participle nappying; past and past participle nappied)

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

nappy (comparative nappier, superlative nappiest)

  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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=q58yAAAAIAAJ&q=%22nappy%22|%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, informal, sometimes, offensive) Of hair: tightly curled or twisted; frizzy (often specifically in reference to Afro textured hair)
    • 1987, Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=kVVp9RLqlYwC&pg=PT45&dq=%22nappy%22|%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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ebtFUCG6I6cC&pg=PA52&dq=%22nappy%22|%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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=8G5ml2QT7l4C&pg=PA50&dq=%22nappy%22|%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. (rare) Inclined to sleep; sleepy.
    • 1930, Hubert Evans, ‎H. E. M. Sellen, The Silent Call (page 90)
      After supper I felt nappy and dropped right off to sleep.
Translations
  • Russian: курча́вый
Noun

nappy (plural nappies)

  1. A shallow, flat-bottomed earthenware or glass bowl with sloping sides.
    • 1902, Charles Austin Bates, The Art and Literature of Business, Volume 4, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=RzHZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22nappy%22|%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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=NBUxAQAAMAAJ&q=%22nappy%22|%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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=vh8iAQAAMAAJ&q=%22nappy%22|%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

nappy (comparative nappier, superlative nappiest)

  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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=3U9HAAAAMAAJ&q=%22nappy%22|%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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=bxHbO2E5yckC&pg=PA151&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#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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=VSOK61fR6t0C&pg=PT68&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#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

nappy (uncountable)

  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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=4IEHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA151&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#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, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=SJzxDW_QIhIC&pg=PA248&dq=%22nappy%22|%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.
Adjective

nappy (comparative nappier, superlative nappiest)

  1. (Scotland) brittle


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