Editing Diaper (section)

===Etymology===
{{Quote box|width=30%|align=right|quote="''Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper''"|source=—One of the earliest known uses of the word in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]''.<ref name=Shakespeare>{{cite web |url=http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?action=search&resource=Webster%27s&word=Diaper |title=Diaper |work=Webster's Dictionary |publisher=The University of Chicago Department of Romance Languages and Literature |access-date=2 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525222029/http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?action=search&resource=Webster%27s&word=Diaper |archive-date=May 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>}}

The [[Middle English]] word ''diaper'' originally referred to a type of cloth rather than the use thereof; "diaper" was the term for a pattern of repeated, rhombic shapes, and later came to describe white cotton or linen fabric with this pattern. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is a piece of soft cloth or other thick material that is folded around a baby's bottom and between its legs to absorb and hold its body waste.<ref>{{cite dictionary |url= https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/diaper?q=diaper|url-status= live|title= nappy|dictionary= [[Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213220704/https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/diaper?q=diaper|archive-date= 13 December 2021|access-date= 7 May 2021}}</ref> The first cloth diapers consisted of a specific type of soft tissue sheet, cut into geometric shapes. The pattern visible in linen and other types of woven fabric was called "diaper". This meaning of the word has been in use since the 1590s in England. By the 19th century, baby diapers were being sewn from linen, giving us the modern-day reading of the word "diaper".<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=diaper|url-status= live|title= Diaper|publisher= eytomonline.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211214011607/https://www.etymonline.com/word/diaper|archive-date= 14 December 2021|access-date= 10 November 2009}}</ref> This usage stuck in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] following the [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonization of North America]], but in the [[United Kingdom]], the word "nappy" took its place. Most sources believe ''nappy'' is a diminutive form of the word [[napkin]], which itself was originally a diminutive.<ref>{{cite dictionary |url= http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00321105?query_type=word&queryword=nappy&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&search_id=7XBH-OkOsBx-11004&result_place=1|url-access= subscription|title= Nappy|dictionary= [[Oxford English Dictionary]]|access-date= 28 November 2007}}</ref>