In textiles, diaper is a fabric woven with a distinctive small repeated pattern - historically a rich silk, later a soft white linen or cotton used for tablecloths and towels. The word also names the infant garment traditionally made from folded absorbent cloth.
Diaper the Fabric
The original diaper was a patterned fabric, often with small diamond or birdseye figures woven into silk or linen - a cousin of damask. Over time the term settled on soft, absorbent white fabrics: linen or cotton diaper cloth for table linens, towels, and napkins. The small woven pattern gives the cloth texture and helps it absorb, which is exactly what made it useful at the table long before it was used in the nursery.
Diaper the Garment
The infant's diaper took its name from the fabric it was made of: a square of soft, absorbent diaper cloth, folded and fastened about the baby. For most of history, all diapers were cloth diapers - washed and reused. Disposable diapers only took over in the second half of the 20th century, and in recent years washable cloth diapers have made a comeback among parents interested in reducing waste.
Why One Word for Both
This is a straightforward case of a material lending its name to the thing made from it - like "flannel" shirts or "denim" jeans. The fabric came first (patterned silks and linens centuries ago); the baby garment inherited the name because it was cut from diaper cloth. The two meanings still coexist in textile dictionaries today.
FAQs
- Is diaper fabric still woven?
- Yes - birdseye and diaper-weave cotton cloths are still produced for towels, table linens, and traditional cloth diapers.
- What is birdseye diaper?
- A cotton fabric with a tiny diamond-dot pattern resembling a bird's eye, prized for softness and absorbency in diapers and towels.
- What was diaper cloth made of originally?
- Early diaper fabrics included patterned silks; later the term applied mainly to white linen and cotton cloths for household use.
Glossary: see the full fashion glossary for more apparel industry terms.