Pinked

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have shaped or trimmed a material with a serrated edge or pattern
2. To have cut fabric or paper in a zigzag manner to prevent fraying or to create decorative edges
3. To have produced a specific design or outline by cutting that employs a sharp-edged tool for embellishment

Etymology: The past tense of "pink" in its sense of cutting a zigzag edge comes from a verb recorded from the late 15th century, and its origin is unknown. One possibility is a link to the flower. The pinks, a group of carnation cultivars, have petals with notched, frilled edges, and the cutting sense may have grown from the idea of a petal's edge looking pinked. Dutch is the other suggested source. Dutch has a verb "pinken," meaning "to blink," and English "pink" may share that origin, though no one has confirmed it. Either way, the fabric-cutting sense is the one that stuck, and it is the reason pinking shears still carry the name. A pinked seam is cut with a zigzag edge so that the fabric does not fray.