diaphanous


transparent

TRANSLATION

diaphanous = durchlässig, durchsichtig, transparent, durchscheinend, lichtdurchlässig

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

“A DIAPHANOUS dress that helped spark Prince William's interest in his bride-to-be Kate Middleton when they were at university has been sold at auction for £65,000.”

David Batty - The Guardian

Did you
know?

diaphanous
adjective

- a diaphanous substance, especially cloth, is so delicate and thin that you can see through it

Cambridge Dictionary


ORIGIN

1610s, from Medieval Latin diaphanus, from Greek diaphanes ‘transparent’, from dia ‘through’ + phainein ‘bring to light, cause to appear, show’.


DRAMATICALLY DIAPHANOUS

'Diaphanous' is a very evocative word, such as in this fabulous sentence from Leo Tolstoy's epic War and Peace:

"The wide expanse that opened out before the heights on which the Russian batteries stood guarding the bridge was at times veiled by a DIAPHANOUS curtain of slanting rain, and then, suddenly spread out in the sunlight, far-distant objects could be clearly seen glittering as though freshly varnished."


SYNONYMS

cobwebby, delicate, DIAPHANOUS, filmy, flimsy, gauzelike, gauzy, gossamer, gossamery, see-through, sheer, translucent, transparent, ultra-thin


Practice OWAD in a conversation today, discuss something like:

"DIAPHANOUS fabrics allow fashion designers innumerable colour combinations.”


HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

Paul Smith

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