tweezers
/ˈtwizəɹz/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.77 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A small pincerlike instrument, usually made of metal, used for handling or picking up small objects (such as postage stamps), plucking out (plucking) hairs, pulling out slivers, etc.
Etymology
17th century (1645–55): plural of tweeser (on the model of nippers, pincers, pliers or scissors), from obsolete tweese (“case for small instruments”) (or alternatively, alteration of plural form tweeses), aphetic form of earlier etweese (plural of etwee), from French étuis, plural of étui (“case, box, cover”) (from Old French estui (“container, prison”, noun), derivative of étuier (earlier spelling, estuier (“to shut up, guard, keep, preserve, save, enclose, place in a cover”), probably from Vulgar Latin *estudiāre (“to keep, treat with care”) or *studiāre, from Latin studēre (“to care about”).
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈtwizəɹz/
- British English: /ˈtwiːzəz/
Derived Forms
Phrases
optical tweezers
en prison estuier
Frequently Paired Words
en prison estuier
estuier