(あぶらがみ)

あぶらがみ
noun
oilpaper; oiled paper
1. oilpaper; oiled paper
Paper treated with oil to make it water-resistant. Traditionally used to wrap goods, line umbrellas and raincoats, and keep out moisture before plastics became common.
油紙(あぶらがみ)(つつ)む。
To wrap something in oilpaper.
(むかし)(かさ)油紙(あぶらがみ)(つく)られていた。
Umbrellas in the old days were made from oilpaper.
大切(たいせつ)書類(しょるい)油紙(あぶらがみ)(つつ)んで湿気(しっけ)から(まも)った。
I wrapped the important documents in oilpaper to protect them from moisture.

Paper soaked or coated with drying oil so that it repels water. Once everywhere in daily life—on 番傘(ばんがさ) (traditional umbrellas), raincoats, and packaging—it is now largely replaced by plastic and vinyl.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 油紙(あぶらがみ)(つつ)む: to wrap in oilpaper
  • 油紙(あぶらがみ)()がつく: oilpaper catches fire — also an idiom for someone who talks on and on once they get started

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 蝋紙(ろうがみ): waxed paper — coated with wax rather than oil
  • ビニール: vinyl — the modern waterproof material that replaced oilpaper