di·aph·a·nous

(dī-ăf′ə-nəs)

adj.

1. Sufficiently thin or airy as to be translucent: a diaphanous gown; diaphanous gauze.

2. Of such fine composition as to be easily damaged or broken; delicate: diaphanous butterfly wings.

[From Medieval Latin diaphanus, transparent, from Greek diaphanēs, from diaphainein, to be transparent : dia-, dia- + phainein, phan-, to show; see bhā- in Indo-European roots.]

di′a·pha·ne′i·ty (dī′ə-fə-nē′ĭ-tē), di·aph′a·nous·ness n.

di·aph′a·nous·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

diaphanous

(daɪˈæfənəs)

adj

(Textiles) (usually of fabrics such as silk) fine and translucent

[C17: from Medieval Latin diaphanus, from Greek diaphanēs transparent, from diaphainein to show through, from dia- + phainein to show]

diˈaphanously adv

diˈaphanousness, diaphaneity n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

di•aph•a•nous

(daɪˈæf ə nəs)

adj.

1. very sheer and light; nearly transparent.

2. insubstantial; amorphous.

[1605–15; < Medieval Latin diaphanus < Greek diaphanḗs transparent (adj. derivative of diaphaínein to show through)]

di•aph′a•nous•ly, adv.

di•aph′a•nous•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

diaphanous - so thin as to transmit light; "a hat with a diaphanous veil"; "filmy wings of a moth"; "gauzy clouds of dandelion down"; "gossamer cobwebs"; "sheer silk stockings"; "transparent chiffon"; "vaporous silks"

cobwebby, filmy, gauze-like, gauzy, see-through, vaporous, vapourous, gossamer, transparent, sheer

thin - of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite or in cross section; "thin wire"; "a thin chiffon blouse"; "a thin book"; "a thin layer of paint"

diaphanous

noun fine, light, thin, sheer, delicate, transparent, see-through, translucent, chiffon, gossamer, gauzy, filmy, pellucid, cobwebby a diaphanous dress of pale gold chiffon

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

diaphanous

adjective

So light and insubstantial as to resemble air or a thin film:

aerial, aery, airy, ethereal, filmy, gauzy, gossamer, gossamery, sheer, transparent, vaporous, vapory.

Translations

diaphan durchscheinend lichtdurchlässig

διαφανής

diáfano

translucide

dijafanprovidanproziran

diafano permeabile vaporoso

diaphanous

[daɪˈæfənəs] ADJ → diáfano

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

diaphanous

[daɪˈæfənəs] adj [fabric, garment] → diaphane

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

diaphanous

adj → durchscheinend

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

diaphanous

[daɪˈæfənəs] adj → diafano/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The wide expanse that opened out before the heights on which the Russian batteries stood guarding the bridge was at times veiled by a diaphanous curtain of slanting rain, and then, suddenly spread out in the sunlight, far-distant objects could be clearly seen glittering as though freshly varnished.

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"A song and dance!" she said, in a deliberate sweet voice that seemed to clothe her words in a diaphanous garment of impalpable irony.

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This beautiful and diaphanous quality of the Rocky Mountain streams prevails for a long time after they have mingled their waters and swollen into important rivers.

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It was so thin, so diaphanous, so like a fancy made visible, that one would have said: "Look quickly!

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She was seated by the open window, dressed n some sort of white diaphanous material, with a little touch of scarlet at the neck and waist.

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But for D'Artagnan all aspects were clothed happily, all ideas wore a smile, all shades were diaphanous. The appointed hour was about to strike.

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The mountains we had crossed now loomed high above our heads, and Sheba's Breasts were veiled modestly in diaphanous wreaths of mist.

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In a low chair beneath a red shaded standing lamp sat Ida, in a diaphanous evening dress of mousseline de soie, the ruddy light tinging her sweet childlike face, and glowing on her golden curls.

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This phantom wore many faces, but it always had golden hair, was enveloped in a diaphanous cloud, and floated airily before his mind's eye in a pleasing chaos of roses, peacocks, white ponies, and blue ribbons.

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She is so slender, so light, so filmy, she must be diaphanous. Her face was as white as milk; her eyes, her clothes, her hair jet black.

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It was a wild, cold, seasonable night of March, with a pale moon, lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her, and flying wrack of the most diaphanous and lawny texture.

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At the moment when this history begins, a brilliant July sun was illuminating the studio, and two rays striking athwart it lengthwise, traced diaphanous gold lines in which the dust was shimmering.

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