wallpapern.
/ˈwɔːlˌpeɪpə/, U.S. /ˈwɔlˌpeɪpər/, /ˈwɑlˌpeɪpər/ 1. Paper, usually printed in ornamental designs, used for covering the interior walls of buildings; paper-hangings. Now also made of other materials, such as vinyl. Cf. wallcovering n. at wall n.1 Compounds 2a.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > wallcovering > [noun] > wall-paper
paperhanging1693
paper1750
papering1823
wallpaper1827
wallpapering1864
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > material for making paper > paper > [noun] > wall-paper
wallpaper1827
woodchip1962
1827 B. Drake & E. D. Mansfield Cincinnati in 1826 viii. 65 Two Wall Paper Factories, 9 hands.
1847 F. A. Kemble Let. 12 Dec. in Rec. Later Life (1882) III. 300 You know how subject I am even to such an influence as that of a ridiculous wall-paper.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin xxxv The wall-paper was defaced in spots, by slops of beer and wine.
1862 Internat. Exhib.: Illustr. Catal. Industr. Dept. II. xxx. 13 Block-printed chintz furniture and wall paper. [Elsewhere usually called ‘paper hangings’.]
1879 W. Black Macleod of Dare xli That was the guide she turned to—the woman-man, the dabbler in paint-boxes, the critic of carpets and wall-papers.
1883 Harper's Mag. Mar. 578/1 Should the new wall-paper be plain or gilded?
1904 L. Creighton Life & Lett. M. Creighton I. 83 He is spoken of as being the first to..introduce the inhabitants of Falmouth to Morris's wall-papers.
1905 H. G. Wells Kipps ii. viii. §3 Revel came last,..politely admiring in a flute-like cultivated voice the mellow wall-paper of the staircase.
2. figurative. An unobtrusive background; esp. with reference (chiefly derogatory) to sound, music, etc. Frequently with preceding adj. or in attributive use.
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the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > thing heard > [noun] > sound > sound for listening to > background sounds setting mood > unobtrusive
wallpaper1919
1919 ‘C. Dane’ Legend 28 They wearied me... They faded into a mere wall-paper of sound, and I forgot that they were there.
1934 C. Lambert Music Ho! iii. 228 It is a matter of indifference whether jazz is a stimulant..or a piece of mental wallpaper.
1959 A. Bailey Making Progress 157 Cool jazz formed a background, like aural wallpaper.
1966 Guardian 4 June 6/4 Of course, we have to have wallpaper talk, in a week's broadcasting, just as some people have to have wallpaper music all the week.
1969 Listener 24 Apr. 588/1 The cultural wallpaper of his own childhood was the Australian commercial radio stations.
1977 Zigzag June 40/1 The best track, for me, is..‘Living in The Band’, but most of this is just so much wallpaper.
1980 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts Mar. 223/2 Possibly television is becoming visual wallpaper in much the same way as radio has become audible wallpaper.
Derivatives
wallpapering n. wallpaper collectively.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > wallcovering > [noun] > wall-paper
paperhanging1693
paper1750
papering1823
wallpaper1827
wallpapering1864
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. ii. ix. 247 A young lady..who was better worth staring at, it occurred to Sloppy, than the best of wall-papering.
ˈwallpaper v. (transitive and intransitive) to cover a wall with wallpaper; also transferred and figurative.
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society > occupation and work > industry > decorating and painting > decorate [verb (intransitive)] > hang wallpaper
wallpaper1934
society > occupation and work > industry > decorating and painting > decorate [verb (transitive)] > paper
paper1730
wallpaper1934
1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Wallpaper v.t. & i.
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio xi. 198 If this technique..does not quite come off it may be possible to wallpaper over the cracks by adding a new overall backing.
1973 Listener 29 Nov. 733/1 You could wallpaper St. Paul's with the free brochures.
1975 P. Dickinson Lively Dead xxi. 122 She had planned to wallpaper the back room.
1977 M. French Women's Room ii. viii. 82 She painted and wallpapered, refinished furniture.
1978 R. Mills Comprehensive Educ. 80 We did the paintwork and wallpapered the ceiling.
1979 ‘P. O'Connor’ Into Strong City xii. 39 The room is wallpapered with..a section of Soho dressed as artists as distinct from the criminal section who dress in another fashion.
ˈwallpapered adj.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > wallcovering > [adjective] > wallpapered
papered1599
wallpapered1956
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > material for making paper > paper > [adjective] > covered with paper > of specific kind
lead-papered1922
wallpapered1956
1956 Family Handyman Mag.'s Painting & Redecorating Bk. 34/1 If you want to paint formerly wallpapered walls: 1. Use check system just described.
1977 Listener 28 Apr. 537/1 Into the Cambridge Union, through the amazingly wallpapered lobby.
Draft additions April 2011
3. Computing. A background image or pattern in a graphical user interface; esp. one on the desktop of a computer or the home screen of a mobile phone which can typically be changed by the user.
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1990 Business Wire (Nexis) 22 May Users can..choose from a set of available backgrounds called wallpapers, and can also choose their own screen colors.
1996 P. K. McBride Windows 95 Clear & Simple 126 Set the wallpaper, patterns, color scheme and fonts to suit yourself.
2002 What Mobile Apr. 6/2 Also on the website is a feature for converting your own jpgs into images suitable for sending to the phone as wallpapers.
2010 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 6 Jan. 14 The pencil-thin handset uses Google's Android software. It includes interactive wallpapers, such as rippling water and waves which react to the touch of a finger.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1827