paper-whiteadj.n.
/ˌpeɪpəˈwʌɪt/, U.S. /ˈpeɪpərˈ(h)waɪt/ A. adj.
1. Of the white or off-white colour of paper.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > white or whiteness > [adjective] > off-white
paper-whitec1430
sheep-hued?a1600
natural1854
ecru1869
natural-coloured1909
off-white1931
the world > matter > colour > named colours > white or whiteness > [adjective] > pure white > as other typical things
swan-white1393
paper-whitec1430
ice-white1641
pearl white1779
lint-white1794
wool-white1819
fish belly1878
wax-white1883
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 1198 Upon a thikke palfrey, paper-whit..Sit Dido.
1567 G. Turberville Epitaphes, Epigrams f. 47 v On hir I gazde a while till vse of sense was fled: And colour Paper white before was woxen Scarlet red.
1653 Duchess of Newcastle Philos. Fancies 84 Her Corps was borne to Church on gray Goose wing, Her Sheet was Paper white to lap her in.
1880–1 Proc. Royal Soc. 31 305 First in the yellowish-green..he sees a narrow, uncoloured (‘paper-white’) belt, from which his other colour, green, commences.
1925 J. Dos Passos Manhattan Transfer iii. iv. 351 His eyes staring up widen until they fill the paperwhite face.
1973 J. Burrows Like Evening Gone xi. 128 [He] had turned paper-white when given the news.
2002 What Mobile Apr. 9/2 In use, the backlight has the same paper-white backlight as the 8850.
2. Denoting a kind of narcissus with pure white flowers; spec. (a) Narcissus papyraceus; (b) a cultivar of N. tazetta.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [adjective] > of daffodil or narcissus and allied flowers
narcissine1656
paper-white1806
Nerine1820
poetaz1906
1806 Curtis's Bot. Mag. 24 947 (heading) Italian or paper-white Narcissus.
1938 Harper's Mag. Nov. 668/2 We..study the bulb catalogue and order one dozen paper-white Grandiflora Narcissus.
1993–4 TLC for Plants Winter 51/3 (advt.) A rustic pine box..is a perfect foil for the delicate blossoms of paperwhite narcissus.
B. n.
A plant (spec. a narcissus) of a paper-white variety.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > names applied to various flowers
heliotropec1000
flower jaunette1423
helichrysum1551
sunflower1562
Armeria1578
hyacinth1578
pimpernel1578
vaccin1589
heliochryse1593
purple1604
sunflower1622
mayflower1626
starflower1629
bluebottle1648
pink1731
trumpet-flower1732
fly-wort1753
witches' thimbles1820
honey plant1824
black-eyed Susan1836
shell-flower1845
pincushion1847
pincushion flower1856
nightingale1862
garland-flower1866
paper-white1880
1880 Hist. Massachusetts Hort. Soc. 1829–1878 vii. 226 Of chrysanthemums there were the Quilled Flame, Curled Lilac,..Paper White, Crimson, [etc.].
1928 C. T. Gregory & J. J. Davis Common Garden Pests ii. 58 Bulb Fly (Meroden equestris). Attacks narcissus, paper whites, daffodils, Jonquils, Chinese narcissus and Amaryllis.
1974 S. Clapham Greenhouse Bk. xii. 114 Narcissi Paper-White and Soleil d'Or are particularly useful for providing early bloom with only the minimum of heat.
1994 J. Berendt Midnight in Garden Good & Evil xi. 167 Camellias, jonquils, and paperwhites had bloomed in December and January.
Derivatives
ˈpaper-whiteness n.
ΚΠ
1874 R. St. J. Tyrwhitt Our Sketching Club 21 You have only the paper-whiteness to stand for both.
1996 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 15 Nov. (Features section) 12 Her brown wig setting off the paper-whiteness of her skin.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.c1430