Rimmer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A tool or machine used to shape, flange or fit the rim of a wheel, pan, drum or similar object
2. A device that puts a rim onto a piece of metal or other material during manufacture
3. Equipment that forms the edge or border of a circular component, such as a wheel or lid

Etymology: A rimmer is simply a thing or person that rims something, built from the noun "rim" with the agent suffix "-er." The word "rim" itself goes back to Old English "rima," which is the source of the modern noun, and the suffix arrived in English through a long chain: it was borrowed into Latin as "-arius," passed through Old French as "-ier," and settled into Middle English as "-er." So the word is a plain combination of an old native noun and a suffix with a Latin ancestry. The suffix's history explains why so many English words share this ending, from "baker" to "miner." Its path into English ran through Old French, which is why the spelling and sound of "-er" in such words reflect French influence on Middle English rather than a native development. Because "rimmer" is a transparent formation, its meaning follows directly from its parts: it denotes the one who puts a rim on something.