diaphaneadj.n.
/ˈdʌɪəfeɪn/ = diaphanous adj., transparent. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > transparency or translucence > [adjective]
shireOE
brightOE
through-shineOE
cleanc1040
cleara1400
transparent1413
crystalc1425
crystallinec1425
crystal-clear?a1439
pure1481
perspicuatea1500
beryl1508
through-shining1526
diaphane1561
thorough-seeable1562
pellucid1563
sheer1565
translucent1568
liquid1590
tralucent?1592
perspicuous1599
thorough light1601
diaphanic1614
diaphanous1614
perspicable1615
translucid1615
diaphanal1616
lucid1620
diaphaned1626
transpicuous1638
perlucid1647
dioptrical1760
dioptric1801
unconcealing1804
see-through1851
pellucent1886
pool-clear1924
1561 R. Eden tr. M. Cortés Arte Nauigation i. i. sig. A ivv Diaphane or transparent bodyes.
1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits vi. 77 Some haue colours, and some are diaphane and transparant.
1824 Ann. Reg. 270* A new manufacture of stuffs, with transparent figures, which he calls Diaphane Stuffs.
B. n.
1. A transparent body or substance; a transparency.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > transparency or translucence > [noun] > object or medium
transparency1591
transparence1635
diaphanal1653
pellucid1669
diaphane1844
hyaloid1844
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) iv. ii. 296 Frequently both in the Language of the Holy Scripture, and of divers of the ancient Heathen Authors, the whole Diaphanum of the Air and Æther is in one common appellation called Heaven; which is the denomination here given to this Expansum.]
1844 E. B. Barrett Drama of Exile in Poems I. 116 Through the crystal diaphane.
2. A silk stuff: see quot. 1882.
ΚΠ
1824 [see sense A.].
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 153 Diaphane, a woven silk stuff, having transparent coloured figures.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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adj.n.1561