tampon

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): [ˈtʰæmpɒn]

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): [ˈtʰæmpɑn]
• Rhymes: -æmpɑn

tampon (plural tampons)

1. A plug of cotton or other absorbent material inserted into a body cavity or wound to absorb fluid, especially one inserted in the vagina during menstruation.
   • 1988, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions, Faber & Faber Limited (2021), page 145:

     I examined a tampon, from the outside only without removing the wrapper because I did not want to waste one, and considered aloud the consequences of pushing the offensively shaped object into my vagina.

2. A double-headed drumstick primarily for the bass drum.
3. An inking pad used in lithographic printing.

• (intravaginal plug used to absorb menstrual blood): vampire's teabag (slang)

• emotional tampon
• tampo
• tampography

tampon (third-person singular simple present tampons, present participle tamponing or tamponning, simple past and past participle tamponed or tamponned)

1. (medicine, transitive) To plug (a wound) with a tampon or compress.

• sanitary napkin, sanitary towel
• tampion

• pot man, potman, topman

Nasalized variant of tapon, from Frankish *tappo, from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug, tap”), cognate with Dutch tappe, German Zapfen, Old English tæppa, English tap.

• IPA^(key): /tɑ̃.pɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

tampon m (plural tampons)

1. Piece of wood or other material to close an opening

   …un petit orifice qui, pendant l'emplissage, est bouché par un tampon de bois.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   1. (musical instrument) Same, closing the opening of a flute, a saxophone.

      Tampons spéciaux montés sur plaques aluminium pour saxophone alto à tampons vissés.

      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   2. (boat) Same, closing a leak.

      Tampon d'étoupe.

      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. (medicine) a plug of cotton or other absorbent material inserted into a body cavity or wound to absorb fluid

   1932, Jules Romains, Hommes de bonne volonté:

   Il monta chercher dans sa chambre, au premier étage, un petit tampon d'ouate; puis, comme le sang était sec et collait à la porcelaine, il humecta légèrement le coton avant de frotter.

   (please add an English translation of this quote)

3. tampon to stop menstruation

   Tampon hygiénique.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

4. sponge, piece of porous material
   1. used for washing.

      tampon à récurer.

      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   2. to varnish or apply wax to a piece of furniture.

      vernissage au tampon.

      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   3. to apply ink.

      Tampon encreur.

      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

5. stamp

   Donner un coup de tampon.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

6. (figuratively) mitigator, mediator, buffer between people having a dispute

   jouer le rôle de tampon.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   1. In this sense, often used in apposition, such as in solution tampon, État tampon, zone tampon, etc.

      Cette zone accueillerait une partie des 3,6 millions de réfugiés syriens et ferait office de zone tampon avec la Syrie.

      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

7. (chemistry) buffer

   Solution tampon.

   Buffer solution

8. (computing) buffer
9. Elastic part that prevents damaging when a collision occurs, e.g. buffer in rail transport

• (to block an opening): bouchon, tape, tapon
• (tampon): serviette hygiénique
• (stamp): cachet, timbre

• tamponner
  • tamponnage
  • tamponnade
• zone tampon

• English: tampon
• German: Tampon
• Dutch: tampon
• Italian: tampone
• Japanese: タンポン (tanpon)
• Korean: 탐폰 (tampon)
• Portuguese: tampão
• Russian: тампо́н (tampón)
• Spanish: tampón

• Etymology and history of “tapon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• “tampon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Borrowed from French tampon, from Middle French tampion, a nasalised variant of tapon, a diminutive or augmented form of Old French tape (“plug, bung, tap”), from Frankish *tappo (“stopper, plug”), from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug, tap”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈtam.pɔn/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ampɔn
• Syllabification: tam‧pon

tampon m inan (diminutive tamponik)

1. (medicine) tampon (plug of cotton or other absorbent material)

• tampon in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• tampon in Polish dictionaries at PWN

From French tampon.

tampon n (plural tampoane)

1. buffer
2. tampon

• IPA^(key): /tǎmpoːn/
• Hyphenation: tam‧pon

tàmpōn m (Cyrillic spelling та̀мпо̄н)

1. tampon