Esizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Applying a thin glue-like coating to a surface, such as paper or cloth, to stiffen it or seal its pores
2. Treating a material with a gelatinous substance that fills its fibres and makes it firmer before further work
3. Coating paper, fabric or a wall with a stiff, glue-based layer so that paint or ink sits evenly on it

Etymology: "Esizing" is a textile term for stiffening yarn or cloth with a gummy size before weaving, so the warp threads don't snap under tension. The word is built from "size," which in this sense comes from Old French "sise" or "assise," meaning a fixing or setting, from Latin "assidere," to sit beside or settle. The same "size" gave English its sense of a glutinous fixative used by painters and gilders, and that is the root of the trade term. The prefix "e-" is the surprising part. It is a form of "ex-," meaning "out" or "off," and it was added to "size" to mean "to remove the size," that is, to wash out the stiffening after weaving. Early English dictionaries and trade manuals used "desize" for this removal process, and "esize" appears in that same technical context. Because the stiffening was applied before weaving and then taken out, the verb "esizing" sits at the opposite end of the process from the stiffening itself.