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paper

  • /ˈpeɪ̯.pə/ UK
  • /ˈpeɪ̯.pəɹ/ Canada, US
  • [ˈpʰeɪ̯.pɚ] Canada, US
  • /ˈpæɪ̯.pə/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ˈpe.pəɹ/ Scotland

Rhymes with -eɪpə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

Ancient Greek πάπυρος (pápuros)bor.

Latin papȳrusslbor.

Old Catalan paperbor.

Anglo-Norman paperbor.

Middle English paper

English paper

From Middle English paper, from Anglo-Norman paper, from Old Catalan paper, borrowed from Latin papȳrus (and given the Catalan suffix -er), from Ancient Greek πάπυρος (pápuros).

noun papers

  1. countable, uncountable A sheet material typically used for writing on or printing on (or as a non-waterproof container), usually made by draining cellulose fibres from a suspension in water. Draw on the paper! Not on the walls!
  2. abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of newspaper; anything used as such (such as a newsletter or listing magazine).newspaper Read all about it in this morning's paper!
  3. abbreviation, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of wallpaper.wallpaper The paperhangers had just finished hanging the paper in the dining room when the interior decorator walked in and exclaimed that it was the wrong color.
  4. abbreviation, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of wrapping paper.wrapping paper In those days, you asked the butcher for a block of cheese, and he wrapped it up in paper for you.
  5. countable, uncountable An open hand (a handshape resembling a sheet of paper), that beats rock and loses to scissors. It loses to lizard and beats Spock in rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.
  6. countable, uncountable A written document, generally shorter than a book; usually written as a school assignment or a government report. Near-synonym: report
  7. countable, uncountable A written document that reports scientific or academic research and is usually subjected to peer review before publication in a scientific journal (as a journal article or the manuscript for one) or in the proceedings of a scientific or academic meeting (such as a conference, workshop, or symposium). Their team published a paper in the leading journal of their field, and its widespread impact elevated the reputation of their university department.
  8. Hong Kong, UK, countable, uncountable A set of examination questions to be answered at one session.
  9. countable, slang, uncountable Money.
  10. uncountable Any financial assets other than specie, including paper money, commercial paper, and others. Why might not a Government annuity, the Principal of which was originally invested in Paper since the Cash suspension in 1797, be constituted the guarantee of Paper Money, emendating from that investiture and suspension, and the Parliament authority transferred to its security, as it has been to its
  11. New Zealand, countable A university course. a paper in ology
  12. countable, uncountable A paper packet containing a quantity of items. a paper of pins, tacks, opium, etc.
  13. countable, uncountable A medicinal preparation spread upon paper, intended for external application. cantharides paper
  14. countable, uncountable A substance resembling paper secreted by certain invertebrates as protection for their nests and eggs.
  15. countable, dated, uncountable Free passes of admission to a theatre, etc.
  16. broadly, countable, dated, uncountable The people admitted by free passes.

adjective

  1. not comparable Made of paper. At twilight in the summer[…]the mice come out. They[…]eat the luncheon crumbs. Mr. Checkly, for instance, always brought his dinner in a paper parcel in his coat-tail pocket, and ate it when so disposed, sprinkling crumbs lavishly[…]on the floor.
  2. not comparable Insubstantial (from the weakness of common paper). paper gangster
  3. not comparable Planned (from plans being drawn up on paper). paper engine, rocket
  4. not comparable Having a title that is merely official, or given by courtesy or convention. a paper lord

verb papers · papering · papered

  1. transitive To apply paper to. to paper the hallway walls
  2. transitive To document; to memorialize. After they reached an agreement, their staffs papered it up.
  3. transitive To fill (a theatre or other paid event) with complimentary seats. Later, seat-filling or “papering” services cropped up, with organizations like Audience Extras, Play-by-Play,[…]
  4. transitive To submit official papers to (a law court, etc.). As powerhouse lawyers shuttled to Cuba to meet clients and papered the federal courts with habeas corpus petitions, Guantanamo's isolation and lack of publicity, once the military's most powerful psychological weapon, was eliminated.
  5. transitive To give public notice (typically by displaying posters) that a person is wanted by the police or other authority.
  6. transitive To sandpaper.
  7. transitive To enfold in paper.
  8. To paste the endpapers and flyleaves at the beginning and end of a book before fitting it into its covers.
  9. Northeastern, US To cover someone's house with toilet paper. Otherwise known as toilet papering or TPing.

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