Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
Diaphanous — Di*aph a*nous, a. [Gr. ?, fr. ? to show or shine through; dia through + ? to show, and in the passive, to shine: cf. F. diaphane. See {Phantom}, and cf. {Diaphane}, {Diaphanic}.] Allowing light to pass through, as porcelain; translucent or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
diaphanous — [dī af′ə nəs] adj. [ML diaphanus < Gr diaphanēs, transparent < diaphainein, to shine through < dia , through + phainein, to show: see FANTASY] 1. so fine or gauzy in texture as to be transparent or translucent [diaphanous cloth] 2. vague … English World dictionary
diaphanous — index lucid, pellucid Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
diaphanous — 1610s, from M.L. diaphanus, from Gk. diaphanes transparent, from dia through (see DIA (Cf. dia )) + phainesthai, middle voice form (subject acting on itself) of phainein to show (see PHANTASM (Cf. phantasm)) … Etymology dictionary
diaphanous — limpid, pellucid, transparent, translucent, *clear, lucid … New Dictionary of Synonyms
diaphanous — [adj] fine, see through chiffon, clear, cobweblike, delicate, filmy, flimsy, gauzy, gossamer, light, pellucid, pure, sheer, thin, translucent, transparent; concepts 490,606 Ant. opaque, thick … New thesaurus
diaphanous — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ light, delicate, and translucent. ORIGIN Greek diaphan s, from dia through + phainein to show … English terms dictionary
diaphanous — adjective Etymology: Medieval Latin diaphanus, from Greek diaphanēs, from diaphainein to show through, from dia + phainein to show more at fancy Date: 1614 1. characterized by such fineness of texture as to permit seeing through < diaphanous… … New Collegiate Dictionary
diaphanous — [17] Semantically, diaphanous is the ancestor of modern English see through. It comes, via medieval Latin diaphanus, from Greek diaphanés, a compound adjective formed from dia ‘through’ and the verb phaínein ‘show’. Originally in English it meant … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
diaphanous — [[t]daɪæ̱fənəs[/t]] ADJ: usu ADJ n Diaphanous cloth is very thin and almost transparent. [LITERARY] ...a diaphanous dress of pale gold … English dictionary
