Trend Watch

Diaphanous

After the pop star Shakira used it to praise a contestant ...

When:

Lookups spiked on April 9, 2013.

Why:

The pop star Shakira – a new judge on NBC's singing competition The Voice – praised an 18-year-old contestant by saying, "Your voice is so diaphanous at times."

Diaphanous means "characterized by extreme delicacy of form" or "ethereal."

It comes from the Greek verb that means "to show through" and in English originally referred to the way light can pass through something, such as thin fabric.


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