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  1. candy striper love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A volunteer worker in a hospital.

Wiktionary

  1. n. US A volunteer worker in a hospital or hospice.
  2. n. US One who cheers others up with their youthful exuberance.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a volunteer worker in a hospital

Etymologies

  1. 1944 US, due to red and white-striped jumpers worn by hospital volunteers, which resembled stick candy, originally a group of high school girls who volunteered as hospital workers at East Orange General Hospital. (Wiktionary)
  2. From the resemblance of the volunteer's red and white striped uniform to a candy cane. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Frank and I knew this candy striper from our days observing Justin in the hospital; Chloe even seemed to have hard as it was for me to believe a little crush on my not-so-smooth-with-the-ladies brother.”

    Simon & Schuster: Forever Lost

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hypernyms (2)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. volunteer
  1. unpaid worker

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Comments

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  • treeseed Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
    noun
    Etymology: from the striped uniform worn suggesting the stripes on some sticks of candy
    Date: 1963
    : a teenage volunteer worker at a hospital Feb 3, 2008

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‘candy striper’ has been looked up 551 times, added to 3 lists, commented on 1 time, and is not a valid Scrabble word.