deckle

American  

[dek-uhl] / ˈdɛk əl /

Or deckel

noun

Papermaking.

1. a board, usually of stainless steel, fitted under part of the wire in a Fourdrinier machine for supporting the pulp stack before it is sufficiently formed to support itself on the wire.

2. deckle edge.

---

deckle British  

/ ˈdɛkəl /

noun

1. a frame used to contain pulp on the mould in the making of handmade paper

2. Also called: deckle strap.  a strap on each edge of the moving web of paper on a paper-making machine that fixes the width of the paper

3. See deckle edge

---

Etymology

Origin of deckle

1800–10; < German Deckel cover, lid, equivalent to deck ( en ) to cover ( see deck) + -el noun suffix

Example Sentences

In fact, the deckle is technically a layer of hard fat, but according to Meathead Goldwyn, the term is used inconsistently by many butchers and chefs and has no reliable definition.

From Washington Post • Aug. 27, 2021

There’s a man’s face and a woman’s head and shoulders, inked on to what at first looks like vellum, with deckle edges like an old book.

From The Guardian • Oct. 30, 2019

The smell of an old leather binding; the crisp deckle edge of a new hardback; the way a dog-eared paperback feels in your hand.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2016

There, the deckle cuts of dry-cured and smoked beef are meaty, pungent and delicious, and best in sandwiches when combining lean and fatty cuts.

From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2012

It was a simple black journal with leather front and back covers, and pages with a deckle edge.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson