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diaphanous

adj
/daɪˈæf.ən.əs/

Etymology

From Medieval Latin diaphanus, from Ancient Greek διαφανής (diaphanḗs), from δια- (dia-, “through”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “to shine, appear”).

  1. derived from διαφανής
  2. borrowed from diaphanus

Definitions

  1. Transparent or translucent

    Transparent or translucent; allowing light to pass through; capable of being seen through.

    • Adam requires a touch of feminine lace and a whisper of diaphanous silk, not a direct vision of the gaping maw of the human vulva.

  2. Of a fine, almost transparent, texture

    Of a fine, almost transparent, texture; gossamer; light and insubstantial.

    • 1951, Robert Frost, Unpublished preface to a collection, 2007, Mark Richardson (editor), The Collected Prose of Robert Frost, page 169, The most diaphanous wings carry a burden of pollen from flower to flower.

  3. Isorefractive, having an identical refractive index.

The neighborhood

Derived

adiaphanous, semidiaphanous, undiaphanous

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at diaphanous. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01diaphanous02translucent03diffusing04broken05violated06ignored07ignore08pretend09veil

A definitional loop anchored at diaphanous. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

9 hops · closes at diaphanous

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA