candy striper

See also: candy-striper and candystriper

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

First appears in the US c. 1944, from candy stripe +‎ -er, due to the red-and-white striped jumpers worn by hospital volunteers, which resembled stick candy (being candy-striped); originally worn by a group of high-school girls who volunteered as hospital workers at East Orange General Hospital in New Jersey.

Noun

candy striper (plural candy stripers)

  1. (US) A volunteer worker in a hospital or hospice.
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