Crimpers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Devices utilized to produce curls or waves in hair
2. Tools employed to bend or fold edges, particularly in textiles or crafting
3. Instruments designed for shaping hair into curls or waves ; devices used to press or bend materials such as fabric or metal edges

Etymology: Crimpers are the curling irons and hair tools that put a wave or crimp into hair, and their name comes from the verb "crimp," meaning to press or pinch something into folds or ridges. The verb itself is older than the hair tool by a long way, and it has been used for pleasing pleats in cloth and fabric, where a crimped edge or seam is pinched into small regular folds. The "-er" ending is the common suffix that turns a verb into a name for a thing that does the action, the same pattern found in "cutter," "opener," and "toaster." So a crimper is literally something that crimps. The plural "crimpers" simply refers to a set of such tools. The word also has a separate, unrelated use in climbing, where a crimper is a small, sharp-edged hold that a climber grips with the fingertips. Here the ending follows a different pattern, with the "-er" marking the thing that is gripped rather than the thing doing the gripping.

Synonyms: curlers, waves