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nappy

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nappy¹

  • /ˈnæpi/

Rhymes with -æpi

Where it comes from

A diminutive in -y. The base is probably napkin but possibly French nappe directly (note that napkin is already a diminutive).

noun nappies

  1. Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, UK An absorbent garment worn by a baby or toddler who does not yet have voluntary control of their bladder and bowels or by someone who is incontinent; a diaper. You will notice that disposable nappies are sold in boy and girl versions. They vary in where the thickest padding is provided.

    Similar: diaper, napkin

verb nappies · nappying · nappied

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

nappy²

  • /ˈnæpi/

Rhymes with -æpi

adjective nappier · 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, 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, offensive, sometimes Of hair: tightly curled or twisted; frizzy (often specifically in reference to Afro textured hair) They could scarcely bear their knowledge, nor could they have borne the sight of Rufus, but they knew why he was in the streets tonight, why he rode subways all night long, why his stomach growled, why his hair was nappy, his armpits funky, his pants and shoes too thin, and why he did not dare to st

    Similar: kinky, frizzy, fuzzy, woolly, fuzzy-headed, wool-headed, wool-pated, woolly-headed, Afro-textured

  3. rare Inclined to sleep; sleepy. After supper I felt nappy and dropped right off to sleep.

nappy³

  • /ˈnæpi/

Rhymes with -æpi

Where it comes from

From Middle English nap, from Old English hnæp, hnæpp, hnæpf (“cup, bowl”), from Proto-West Germanic *hnapp, from Proto-Germanic *hnappaz (“bowl, goblet, cup”). See hanaper.

noun nappies · nappie

  1. A shallow, flat-bottomed earthenware or glass bowl with sloping sides. 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.

nappy⁴

  • /ˈnæpi/

Rhymes with -æpi

adjective nappier · nappiest

  1. of a drink Foamy; having a large head.
  2. of a horse Nervous, excitable. ‘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.’

noun

  1. obsolete, uncountable 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, page 151, Aw′ve seen when we′ve gyen iv a kind, freenly way / To be blithe ower a jug o′ good nappy

nappy⁵

  • /ˈnæpi/

Rhymes with -æpi

Where it comes from

Related to knap.

adjective nappier · nappiest

  1. Scotland Brittle.

Translations

Every language

adj tightly curled or twisted

Русскийкурча́вый kurčávyj, косма́тый kosmátyj

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Cite this
MLA

"nappy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nappy. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

nappy. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nappy

Chicago

"nappy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nappy.

BibTeX
@misc{nappy_2026,
  title = {nappy},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nappy},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}