Mercerizers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of treatment applied to cotton or fabric to enhance its appearance and improve dye absorption
2. Referring to a process that involves the use of caustic soda to create a glossy finish on textiles
3. Pertaining to a method that increases the strength and luster of cotton, making it more appealing in textile applications

Etymology: "Mercerizers" is the plural of "mercerizer," a machine or agent that carries out mercerizing. The verb comes from John Mercer, an English calico printer and chemist, who found that treating cotton with caustic soda made the fibres swell, shrink, and gain both strength and sheen. The process was named after him, so a bolt of cotton that passes through these machines carries his surname in its technical vocabulary. The verb "mercerize" is formed from his surname with the suffix "-ize," and "-er" then makes the agent noun. Mercer's discovery was an accident of experiment rather than a planned invention, and the name stuck to the process he helped establish.