tampon

Pronunciation: [ˈtʰæmpɑn]

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun plug of cotton or other absorbent material; inserted into wound or body cavity to absorb exuded fluids (especially blood)
  2. verb plug with a tampon

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.

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
plug
Narrower (hyponyms)
tampax

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