tampon

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun plug of cotton or other absorbent material; inserted into wound or body cavity to absorb exuded fluids (especially blood)
  2. verb plug with a tampon

Etymology

First attested in 1848. Borrowed from French tampon, from Middle French tampon, a nasalised variant of tapon, a diminutive or augmented form of Old French tape (“plug, bung, tap”), from Frankish *tappō (“stopper, plug”), from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug, tap”). Cognate with Old High German zapfo (“stopper”), Old English tæppa (“stopper”). Doublet of tampion. More at tap.

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