Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

TWEEZERS

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V27, Page 491 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

TWEEZERS , a small See also:

instrument like a pair of See also:tongs, used for picking up See also:minute See also:objects, extracting thorns or splinters from the flesh, &c. Etymologically a " tweezer " is an instrument contained in a " tweeze " or a small See also:case containing several See also:instruments, " tweeze " being a plural See also:form of " twee," an See also:adaptation of See also:French etui, a sheath-case or See also:box to put things in. Why one particular instrument out of the case should be called " tweezers " is not certain; See also:Skeat suggests a possible connexion of ideas with the obsolete " twich," " twitch " (Ger. zwicken, to nip, fasten, Eng. " tweak "), or reference may be made to the M. Eng. twisel or twissel, a pair of objects (twi-, two). The derivation of the French etui (O. Fr. estuy) is doubtful. Cognate forms are Span. estuche, See also:Port. estojo, Ital. astuccio, formerly stuccio or stucchio, all with the same meaning of a small case for instruments such as See also:scissors, See also:knife, &c. Skeat supports See also:Die- in his connexion with the See also:modern See also:German See also:dialect Stauche, See also:cuff, that See also:part of the See also:sleeve where such small objects were carried. Others connect the word with See also:Lat. studium, a See also:place where one studies, hence a place where objects of study are carried, a somewhat far-fetched sense development.

End of Article: TWEEZERS

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
TWEEDDALE, MARQUESSES OF 		[next]
TWELVE TABLES

Site © 2006 - Net Industries