tampon
UK [ˈtʰæmpɒn] · US [ˈtʰæmpɑn] noun, verb
Forms tampons tamponing tamponning tamponed tamponned
- noun A plug of cotton or other absorbent material inserted into a body cavity or wound to absorb fluid, especially one inserted in the vagina during menstruation.
- noun A double-headed drumstick primarily for the bass drum.
- noun An inking pad used in lithographic printing.
- verb (medicine, transitive) To plug (a wound) with a tampon or compress.
Synonyms
Etymology
First attested in 1848. Borrowed from French tampon, from Middle French tampon, a nasalised variant of tapon, a diminutive or augmented form of Old French tape (“plug, bung, tap”), from Frankish *tappō (“stopper, plug”), from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug, tap”). Cognate with Old High German zapfo (“stopper”), Old English tæppa (“stopper”). Doublet of tampion. More at tap.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A plug introduced into a natural or artificial cavity of the body in order to arrest hemorrhage, or for the application of medicine.
- verb To plug with a tampon.
Etymology [F. See Tampion.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tampon”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details