Diapers

A diaper (also called a nappy outside North America) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to defecate or urinate without the use of a toilet, by absorbing or containing waste products to prevent soiling of outer clothing or the external environment. When diapers become soiled, they require changing, generally by a second person such as a parent or caregiver. Failure to change a diaper on a sufficiently regular basis can result in skin problems around the area covered by the diaper.

Diapers are made of cloth or synthetic disposable materials. Cloth diapers are composed of layers of fabric such as cotton, hemp, bamboo or microfiber and can be washed and reused multiple times. Disposable diapers contain absorbent chemicals and are thrown away after use. Plastic pants can be worn over diapers to avoid leaks, but with modern cloth diapers, this is no longer necessary.

Diapers are primarily worn by infants, and by children who are not yet potty trained or who experience bedwetting. They are also used by adults with incontinence or in certain circumstances where access to a toilet is unavailable. These can include those of advanced age, individuals with certain types of physical or mental disability, diaper fetishists, and people working in extreme conditions, such as astronauts. It is not uncommon for people to wear diapers under dry suits.

"Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper"

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 a white cotton or linen fabric with this pattern. The first cloth diapers consisted of a specific type of soft tissue sheet, cut into geometric shapes. This type of pattern was called diapering and eventually gave its name to the cloth used to make diapers and then to the diaper itself, which was traced back to 1590s England. This usage stuck in the United States and Canada following the 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.

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