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Sponge vs Nappy - What's the difference?

sponge | nappy |

As nouns the difference between sponge and nappy

is that sponge is (countable) any of various marine invertebrates, mostly of the phylum porifera , that have a porous skeleton often of silica while nappy is pimple.

As a verb sponge

is (slang) to take advantage of the kindness of others.

sponge

English

("sponge" on Wikipedia)

Noun

  • (countable) Any of various marine invertebrates, mostly of the phylum Porifera , that have a porous skeleton often of silica.
  • (countable) A piece of porous material used for washing (originally made from the invertebrates, now often made of plastic).
  • * {{quote-book, year=1913, author=
    • , title=Lord Stranleigh Abroad , chapter=5 citation , passage=She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination. The elder woman returned with dressings and a sponge , which she placed on a chair.}}
  • (uncountable) A porous material such as sponges consist of.
  • (informal) A heavy drinker.
  • (countable, uncountable) A type of light cake; sponge cake.
  • (countable, uncountable, British) A type of steamed pudding.
  • (slang) A person who takes advantage of the generosity of others (abstractly imagined to absorb or soak up the money or efforts of others like a sponge).
  • (countable) A form of contraception that is inserted vaginally; a .
  • Any spongelike substance.
  • # Dough before it is kneaded and formed into loaves, and after it is converted into a light, spongy mass by the agency of the yeast or leaven.
  • # Iron from the puddling furnace, in a pasty condition.
  • # Iron ore, in masses, reduced but not melted or worked.
  • A mop for cleaning the bore of a cannon after a discharge. It consists of a cylinder of wood, covered with sheepskin with the wool on, or cloth with a heavy looped nap, and having a handle, or staff.
  • The extremity, or point, of a horseshoe, answering to the heel.

    • Synonyms

    * (marine invertebrate) sea sponge, bath sponge, poriferan, porifer * (piece of porous material used for washing) bath sponge * (light cake) sponge cake * (type of steamed pudding) sponge pudding * (person) freeloader, sponger

    Derived terms

    * breadcrumb sponge * demosponge * sea sponge * spongey * sponge bath * sponge cake

    See also

    * foam

    Verb

    (spong)
  • (slang) To take advantage of the kindness of others.
  • * L'Estrange
    • The fly is an intruder, and a common smell-feast, that sponges upon other people's trenchers.
  • To get by imposition; to scrounge.
  • * , chapter=13
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=“[…] They talk of you as if you were Croesus—and I expect the beggars sponge on you unconscionably.” And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes.}}
    (Jonathan Swift)
  • To deprive (somebody) of something by imposition.
  • * South
    • How came such multitudes of our nation to be sponged of their plate and their money?
  • To clean, soak up, or dab with a sponge.
  • To suck in, or imbibe, like a sponge.
  • To wipe out with a sponge, as letters or writing; to efface; to destroy all trace of.
    • (Hooker)
  • To be converted, as dough, into a light, spongy mass by the agency of yeast or leaven.

    • Synonyms

    * blag

    nappy

    English

    (wikipedia nappy)

    Etymology 1

    Probably shortened from napkin (but possibly a corruption of (etyl) nappe, since napkin is already a diminutive).

    Noun

    (nappies)
  • (British, Ireland, Australia, South Africa) An absorbent garment worn by a baby who does not yet have voluntary control of his or her bladder and bowels or by someone who is incontinent; a diaper.
  • * 1995 , Jennie Lindon, Lance Lindon, Leandra Negrini, Caring for Young Children , page 60,
    • You will notice that disposable nappies are sold in boy and girl versions. They vary in where the thickest padding is provided.
  • * 2005 , Medical Association of Malawi, Malawi Medical Journal: The Journal of Medical Association of Malawi , Volume 17, page 39,
    • Other equipment required was soap for hand washing and washing of nappies', a washing line for the drying of ' nappies ,.
  • * 2008 , Isabelle Young, Healthy Travel: Asia & India , Lonely Planet, 2nd edition, page 275,
    • You could burn disposable nappies' (not a very practical option); otherwise, it?s probably best to take a supply of large plastic bags or ' nappy sacks with you and to dispose of them as thoughtfully as you can.
  • * 2009 , Chris Arnold, Ethical Marketing and The New Consumer , page 55,
    • In response we mailed hundreds of nappies' to students in halls. On the ' nappy was a simple message, IT'S A LOT EASIER TO PUT ON A CONDOM.
    Synonyms
    * (qualifier) diaper * (qualifier) napkin

    See also

    * (Diaper)

    Verb

  • To put a nappy on.
    • The mother nappied the baby.

    Etymology 2

    From .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Having a nap (of cloth etc.); downy; shaggy.
  • * 1950 , US District Courts, US Court of Claims, US Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, Federal Supplement, Volume 89, page 438,
    • The original accused device, as was the patented device, was made of cotton flannel with a nappy surface on each side,.
  • (US, slang) Of hair: tightly curled or twisted; frizzy (occasionally specifically in reference to Blacks' textured hair).
  • * 1987 , , Assata: An Autobiography , page 30,
    • We would talk about each other?s ugly, big lips and flat noses. We would call each other pickaninnies and nappy -haired so-and-so?s.
  • * 2006 , Ronald L. Jackson II, Scripting the Black Masculine Body , page 52,
    • For example, some Black people?s corporeal zones include nappy hair texture, wide noses, thick lips, and darker-than-white skin complexion, all of which come into play when an individual is interacting with a cultural “Other.”
  • * 2010 , Nadine George-Graves, Urban Bush Women: Twenty Years of African American Dance Theater, Community Engagement, and Working It Out , page 50,
    • She had decided to just cover her hair with a scarf because Aunt Bell was “old school” and Zollar did not want to have to explain why she had nappy hair.
  • Inclined to sleep; sleepy.
    • to feel nappy

    See also

    * (Afro-textured hair)

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) nap, from (etyl) . See hanaper.

    Alternative forms

    * nappie

    Noun

    (nappies)
  • A shallow, flat-bottomed earthenware or glass bowl with sloping sides.
  • * 1902 , Charles Austin Bates, The Art and Literature of Business , Volume 4, page 328,
    • Suppose you advertise a “five-inch glass nappy .” It doesn?t tell a reader anything — a woman especially. She can?t tell how big five inches are anyway ; but just say, “large imitation cut glass fruit saucers at thirty cents a dozen,” and get your packers ready.
  • * 1909 , Milton Osman Jones, Guide to Successful Squab Raising , page 11,
    • The use of a glazed earthenware nesting-dish, or “nappy , ” 9 inches in diameter across the top, is strongly advised.
  • * 1914 , Southern Pharmaceutical Journal , Volume 7, page 626,
    • Place a slice of pineapple in a fruit nappy , place on it a No. 10 cone of vanilla ice cream and pour over it a ladle of chop suey dressing, crowning it with a freshly opened lycher nut or a cherry.

    Etymology 4

    Adjective

    (er)
  • (of a drink) Foamy; having a large head.
  • (of a horse) Nervous, excitable.
  • *1928 , (Siegfried Sassoon), Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man , Penguin 2013, p. 161:
  • *:‘He's a mutton-fisted beggar; but the horse is a bit nappy , and young Roger'll be the man to keep him going at his fences.’
  • * 1948 , John Edward Hance, Better Horsemanship , page 73,
    • I do feel, however, that in talking lightheartedly of making rearing, pulling or nappy horses into useful members of equine society I am treading on very dangerous ground.
  • * 2006 , Karen Coumbe, Karen Bush, The Complete Equine Emergency Bible , page 151,
    • Note that it is possible that a horse is not in fact being nappy at all, but is suffering the onset of muscle disorders: it is up to the rider to interpret the signs correctly.
  • * 2007 , Michael Peace, Lesley Bayley, The Q and a Guide to Understanding Your Horse , page 66,
    • When riders are too dominant various problems can arise: a horse may become nappy , or refuse to go forward.

    Noun

    (-)
  • (obsolete) A kind of strong ale; nappy ale.
  • * 1827 , R. Charlton, Newcastle Improvements'', in T. Thompson, et al. ''A Collection of Songs, Comic and Satirical, Chiefly in the Newcastle Dialect , page 151,
    • Aw?ve seen when we?ve gyen iv a kind, freenly way / To be blithe ower a jug o? good nappy —
  • * 1857 , , The Cruise of the Betsey , 2009, Echo Library, page 248,
    • Weel do I mind that in a? our neeborly meetings—bridals, christenings, lyke-wakes an? the like,—we entertained ane anither wi? rich nappy ale;. But the tea has put out the nappy'; an? I have remarked, that by losing the ' nappy we lost baith ghaists an? fairies.