papier-mâché

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English

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Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from French papier mâché (literally chewed-up paper). See French papier and mâcher, related to the English words paper and masticate, respectively.

Pronunciation

Noun

papier-mâché (uncountable)

  1. Torn-up paper and other possible materials mixed with paste or glue used to create, when the mass is dried, a durable sculptural object.
    • 2002, Zadie Smith, The Autograph Man, Penguin Books (2003), page 236:
      She sat completely alone at the very back of the sea-themed restaurant, amid papier-mâché starfish and plastic shrimp.

Hyponyms

Translations

See also

Verb

papier-mâché (third-person singular simple present papier-mâchés, present participle papier-mâchéing, simple past and past participle papier-mâchéd or papier-mâchéed)

  1. To apply papier-mâché to.
    • 1954, Emmett Kelly, F Beverly Kelley, Clown, page 116:
      I have had it rebuilt, papier-mâchéd inside and otherwise repaired through the years.
    • 1959, SchoolArts, page 21:
      When the bodies of the fish were finished, fins were cut from cardboard to the desired shapes, pinned with straight pins to the fish, and papier-mâchéd in place.
    • 1990, Sarah Ellis, Next-Door Neighbors, New York, N.Y.: Margaret K. McElderry Books, →ISBN, page 78:
      In a giddy moment they had also papier-mâchéd the legs of the card table.
    • 2016, Isy Suttie, The Actual One: How I Tried, and Failed, to Remain Twenty-Something for Ever, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, →ISBN:
      I instead constructed ‘shelves’ inside Roy’s stomach, made from mesh, which I then also papier mâchéd.
    • 2019, Annabeth Bondor-Stone, Connor White, Jaclyn Hyde, HarperCollins, →ISBN:
      I papier-mâchéed the entire volcano, constructed the tiny town out of toothpicks, and doublechecked the calculations to make sure it’s all to scale.
    • 2020, Nancy Snyder, Lions for Ajax, Shepherd Press, →ISBN:
      Then he taped another cardboard tube on and papier-mâchéd it.