Crimping

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkɹɪmpɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Creating small, regular folds or ridges in fabric or metal ; connecting two items by folding or pressing their edges together ; decreasing size or compressing material during production
2. Making tight, small pleats in flexible materials ; fastening materials by bending edges to hold them in place ; compacting substances to reduce their bulk in processing
3. Producing wave-like creases in surfaces such as textiles or wires ; sealing items by folding edges neatly ; applying pressure to diminish volume or thickness in industrial contexts

Etymology: "Crimping" carries two histories that the source treats separately. The verb "crimp" came into Middle English as "crimpen," meaning to be drawn together or contracted, and it descends from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to shrink, draw back." That same root gave Old English "gecrympan," "to curl," and it links to Dutch "krimpen" and Icelandic "kreppa," which means "to bend tightly, clench." Among the Germanic cognates is also Faroese "kreppa," meaning "crisis," which shows how a sense of tightening and constriction ran through the family. The sense of making small pleats or ridges, as in crimping a pie crust or a frill, is the one most readers will recognise, and it grew from the older idea of drawing something together into folds. The word is attested in English from the seventeenth century, and its exact path from the Middle English sense to the later one is not clearly documented. The English word is closely related to "cramp," which shares the same ancestry of tightening and drawing in.

Synonyms: folding, curling, bending, pleating