Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mercerize

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
mer-cer-ize
IPA
22
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To treat (cotton fabric) with sodium hydroxide to make it more lustrous and accepting of dyes.

Transitive verb

Etymology

From Mercer + -ize, named after John Mercer of Great Harwood, Lancashire, who invented the process in the mid-19th century.

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

mercerizes (present, singular) mercerizing (participle, present) mercerized (participle, past) mercerized (past) mercerise (alternative)

Derived Forms

mercerisation mercerization mercerizer

Synonyms

mercerise

Questions

What does mercerize mean?
To treat (cotton fabric) with sodium hydroxide to make it more lustrous and accepting of dyes.
Where does mercerize come from?
From Mercer + -ize, named after John Mercer of Great Harwood, Lancashire, who invented the process in the mid-19th century.

How to pronounce mercerize

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