perm

[purm]Informal.

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noun

permanent(def 4).

verb (used with object)

to give (the hair) a permanent.

verb (used without object)

to apply a permanent to the hair.

Origin of perm

First recorded in 1925–30; by shortening

Perm

[purm, pairm; Russian pyerm]

noun

a city in the E Russian Federation in Europe, on the Kama River.

Formerly Molotov.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for perm

permanent

Examples from the Web for perm

Contemporary Examples of perm

“Seeking a long-term (perm) 24/7 slave, for absolute ownership/slavery,” his profile on Collarpsace.com read.
How ‘MrHandcuffs’ Ended Up With Two Corpses in Suitcases
Michael Daly
June 30, 2014
My sisters opened a beauty parlor in their bedroom, curling hair with crisscrossed bobby pins and calling it a perm.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’
Eileen Cronin
April 8, 2014
I was wearing a perm, so I just had to go to the back of my neck and I had a fist full of sweat.
‘No No,’ a Documentary on MLB Pitcher Dock Ellis, Who Pitched a No-Hitter While Tripping on Acid
Marlow Stern
February 5, 2014
Anna Nemtsova reports on the harsh conditions that await the young mothers in Mordovia and Perm, the ‘gateway to Siberia.’
Inside the Pussy Rioters’ Russian Prisons
Anna Nemtsova
October 24, 2012
Instead, they are now heading to prisons in the remote regions of Mordovia and Perm, also known as “the gateway to Siberia.”
Inside the Pussy Rioters’ Russian Prisons
Anna Nemtsova
October 24, 2012

Historical Examples of perm

I was compelled to return to Perm and inform Rasputin of the result of my investigations.
The Minister of Evil
William Le Queux
In Perm Foma purchased for her different new things and what-not.
Foma Gordyeff
Maxim Gorky
Up this the vessel steamed for three days and then reached Perm.
Condemned as a Nihilist
George Alfred Henty
The upper series is named the Permian, from the province of Perm in Russia.
The Elements of Geology
William Harmon Norton
The Bashkirs of Orenburg deeply indent the southern part of Perm.
The Ethnology of Europe
Robert Gordon Latham

British Dictionary definitions for perm

perm

noun

a hairstyle produced by treatment with heat, chemicals, etc which gives long-lasting waves, curls, or other shapingAlso called (esp formerly): permanent wave

the act of giving or receiving such a hairstyle

verb

(tr) to give a perm to (hair)

perm

noun

short for permutation (def. 4)

Perm

noun

a port in W Russia, on the Kama River: oil refinery; university (1916). Pop: 984 000 (2005 est)Former name (1940–62): Molotov

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

Word Origin and History for perm

1927, shortened form of permanent wave (1909). The verb is first recorded 1928.