One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
Synonyms of paper in English:
paper
See definition of paper
noun
1‘a sheet of paper’
writing paper, notepaper
2‘the story made the front page of the local paper’
newspaper
informal print, rag
3‘the paper was peeling off the walls’
wallpaper, wallcovering
British woodchip
trademark Anaglypta, Lincrusta
4‘toffee papers’
wrapper, wrapping
5‘we had to sit a three-hour paper’
exam, examination, test
6‘he published a paper which proved to be a landmark in the evolution of macroeconomic ideas’
essay, article, composition, monograph, thesis, work, dissertation, treatise, study, report, analysis, tract, critique, exegesis, review, disquisition, discourse, piece of writing
North American theme
7papers‘the personal papers of major political figures’
documents, certificates, forms, letters, files, deeds, records, dossiers, diaries, archives, legal papers, paperwork, documentation
informal treeware
rare muniments, instruments, assignments
8papers‘two men stopped us and asked us for our papers’
identification papers, identification documents, identity card, ID, credentials, bona fides
verb
1‘we papered the walls and put up curtains to match’
wallpaper, hang wallpaper on, line
decorate
Phrases
1‘he's putting a few thoughts down on paper’
in writing, written down, in black and white, in print, on record
recorded, documented, printed
2‘the combatants were, on paper at least, evenly matched’
in theory, theoretically, hypothetically, in the abstract, supposedly
‘the unions tried to paper over their differences’
cover up, hide, conceal, disguise, camouflage, gloss over, whitewash, varnish over, draw a veil over