marcel
1 Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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a marcelling.
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a marcelled condition.
noun
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Gabriel 1887–1973, French philosopher, dramatist, and critic.
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a male given name.
noun
verb
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
The cynical theatrical population dared the visitors to rearrange its smooth marcel into a prickly pompadour.
From Time Magazine Archive
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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
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On these occasions Aunt Sophy, in black satin, and marcel wave, and her most relentless corsets was, in all the superficial things, not a pleat, or fold, or line, or wave behind her city colleagues.
From Half Portions by Edna Ferber
Pidcock finished second at the one-day race in Varese but was left "mad" after Pinarello-Q36.5 team-mates Marcel Camprubi and Thomas Gloag were knocked off their bikes with six laps of the finishing circuit to go.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
"The microbiome is emerging as an important factor in cancer care," said co-senior study author Marcel van den Brink, MD, PhD, chief physician executive at City of Hope.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
"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
“We’re really hanging on by a thread,” said Marcel Wittfeld of Peekaboo Playland.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Artist Marcel Duchamp lived directly across the street and was an active member of the club, and became a great fan of Bobby’s.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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Ms. Jackson, in a lilac dressing gown and a marcelled silver wig, digs deep into that contradiction, producing huge laughs from the grim idea that awfulness is a damn good habit as death hovers.
From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2018
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
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
Also doing double duty is Songwriter Frank Loesser who, besides contributing a nice burlesque of a marcelled thug named Hair-Do Lempke, composed the songs which Betty sandwiches in between her Keystone clowning.
From Time Magazine Archive
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But with the bun tucked under, the waves, and a side part, the style resembled a marcelled bob.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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Last week Jonah Uden was pronounced capable of waving, marcelling, bobbing, shingling and shampooing.
From Time Magazine Archive
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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.