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mercerize

American  
[mur-suh-rahyz] / ˈmɜr səˌraɪz /
especially British, mercerise

verb (used with object)

mercerized, mercerizing

  1. to treat (cotton yarns or fabric) with caustic alkali under tension, in order to increase strength, luster, and affinity for dye.

mercerize British  
/ ˈmɜːsəˌraɪz /

verb

  1. (tr) to treat (cotton yarn) with an alkali to increase its strength and reception to dye and impart a lustrous silky appearance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • mercerization noun
  • mercerizer noun
  • unmercerized adjective

Etymology

Origin of mercerize

1855–60; named after John Mercer (1791–1866), English calico printer, the patentee (1850) of the process; see -ize

Vocabulary lists containing mercerize

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.