tampon

Meaning

Noun

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

Verb

To plug (a wound) with a tampon or compress.

Synonyms

plug

pledget

stopper

wad

block up

bung

choke up

clog

halt

ink pad

jam

land up

lug

obstruct

occlude

screen

stanch

staunch

stem

stemming

stopple

stuff

tent

⛺

wadding

wick

plugger

cotton plug

bar

cotton-wool tampon

block

blockade

block off

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈtʰæmpɒn]

Etymology

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.