marcel
verb (used with object)
to wave (the hair) by means of special irons, producing the effect of regular, continuous waves marcel waves.
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Fictional Characters dictionary results for Marcel.
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marcel
1 American
[mahr-sel]
/ mɑrˈsɛl /
verb (used with object)
marcelled,
marcelling
noun
-
a marcelling.
-
a marcelled condition.
Marcel
2
American
[mahr-sel, ma r -sel]
/ mɑrˈsɛl, marˈsɛl /
noun
-
Gabriel 1887–1973, French philosopher, dramatist, and critic.
-
a male given name.
marcel
1
British
/ mɑːˈsɛl /
noun
verb
Marcel
2
British
/ marsɛl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of marcel
First recorded in 1890–95; named after Marcel Grateau (1852–1936), French hairdresser who originated it
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Harlem in “The Back Room” is a site for “fine gowns and tuxedos, marcel waves and glitter.”
From Washington Times ● Jan. 15, 2020
My aunties would come to town from Chicago and get the marcel iron out,” she said.
From New York Times ● Sep. 14, 2018
Lily, his wife, unwilling to muss her new marcel wave before he saw it, waited, and kept ready a hot cup of tea.
From Time Magazine Archive
The cynical theatrical population dared the visitors to rearrange its smooth marcel into a prickly pompadour.
From Time Magazine Archive
I got a new marcel and a cold on my chest that weighs a ton.
From Every Soul Hath Its Song by Fannie Hurst
"We expect inflation excluding fresh food and energy to rise further towards 2.5 percent by early next year," said Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
The taste of a madeleine famously sent French writer Marcel Proust back into vivid memories of childhood.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
What good is Tolstoy or Marcel Proust to her?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Written by Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett and Kelly Marcel, “Practical Magic 2” is based on the 2021 novel “The Book of Magic,” the fourth and final installment of author Alice Hoffman’s “Practical Magic” series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Not about David Marcel, or Patrick, or the picture, but about everything else: television, her hair, music, her brother.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
Her previously loose and tawny hair is now marcelled and peroxide blond; her glittering but shapeless black gown projects the expensive glamour of a society matron.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 14, 2017
She has a string of imitators, most prominently Katy Perry, who has unabashedly appropriated Ms. Von Teese’s femme fatale persona, down to her loosely marcelled waves and winged eyeliner.
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2012
And though the costumes by Mr. Happel and Rustam Khamdanov also show plenty of stylishness and fantasy, the headgear — particularly the white marcelled wigs worn by several ballerinas — is generally ill advised.
From New York Times ● Apr. 30, 2010
In her 300-room castle at Nordkirchen, Princess Valerie-Marie of Schleswig-Holstein, great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, ran her fingers through marcelled hair at the sight of bearded G.I.s tracking mud on her carpets.
From Time Magazine Archive
Hair sliding into careful waves marcelled to a T?
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
Last week Jonah Uden was pronounced capable of waving, marcelling, bobbing, shingling and shampooing.
From Time Magazine Archive
Like women sitting for two hours under the marcelling irons only to wonder two days later how soon they would need another appointment.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
