Dictionary

papern en · ADJ

Etymology

From paper + -(e)n (“made of”).

Meanings

1. (UK, dialectal, rare) Made of paper.
   • Put thare ta draw things out a Jan; An thit twis bit a papern wal, Zo thit tha witch cude yer et al, An, wen Jan enter'd tother dore, Cude tul min aul ha'd naw'd avaur ;— [...] 1865, Nathan Hogg, Poetical Letters and a Witch Story, in the Devonshire dialect:
   • Afore night 'twur the talk o' all the parish, an' folk did run in an' out all day long for a week to look at un. An' I got a basket o 'apples an' a papern bag o' lollipops for the childern to carr' in my pocket. [...] But the lollipops had all a-melted drough the papern bag, an' he wur a-stickt to my pocket. 1904, The Living Age, volume 242:
   • A woodhouse is rightly a house for wood, and a woodenhouse one made of wood; a paper bag, a bag for papers, and a papern bag, one made of paper; an iron tool, one for working in iron, and an ironen tool, one of iron, and so on. 1832, Sylvanus Urban (pseud. van Edward Cave.), Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle:

Forms