di·aph·a·nous 
(dī-ăfə-nəs)
(dī-ăfə-nəs)adj.
1. Sufficiently thin or airy as to be translucent: a diaphanous gown; diaphanous gauze.
2. Of such fine composition as to be easily damaged or broken; delicate: diaphanous butterfly wings.
[From Medieval Latin diaphanus, transparent, from Greek diaphanēs, from diaphainein, to be transparent : dia-, dia- + phainein, phan-, to show; see bhā-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
di′a·pha·nei·ty (dī′ə-fə-nēĭ-tē), di·apha·nous·ness n.
di·apha·nous·ly adv.