Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Zipper |
ZipperNoun1. A fastener for locking together two toothed edges by means of a sliding tab. Verb1. Close with a zipper; "Zip up your jacket--it's cold". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Industry | Device for a smooth closure, with interlocking teeth in metal or plastic. . . Zippers. . are used for neck, side placket, back, and front closings. Source: European Union. (references) |
Mining | Trade term for a conveyor belt lacing or fastening appliance, which can be applied to any thickness and width of belt. A lever mechanism is used to supply the pressure. The appliance is totally enclosed and grease-filledto protect against dust and damage. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
This article is about the fastening device called the zip. For other uses of the word "zip", or the acronym "ZIP", please see the disambiguation page. A zipper (zip fastener or zip in British English) is a device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric together. It is widely used in clothing, bags and suitcases, purses, tents, sleeping bags and other textiles.Alternatives that are also frequently used are buttons, Velcro, laces and buckles.
Description
The bulk of a zip consists of two strips of fabric tape, one permanently fixed to each of the two flaps to be joined, and each carrying tens or hundreds of specially shaped metal or plastic teeth. Another part, the slider, which is operated by hand, rides up and down the two sets of teeth. Inside the slider is a Y-shaped channel that pushes the opposing sets of teeth together or apart, depending on the slider's direction of travel. The friction of the slider against the teeth causes a characteristic buzzing noise which is probably the origin of the name zip.Some zips have slides on both sides, allowing one to vary not only the size, but also the position of the opening.
Applications of zips in clothing:
- to connect and disconnect the left and right front side (usually fitted vertically so that pushing the slider from top to bottom opens it, and pushing it from bottom to top closes it)
- to widen an opening:
- to allow the head to pass the neck opening
- to allow the hips to pass the waist opening (trousers, skirt)
- sometimes to allow hands to pass sleeves, and feet the legs of trousers
- the zip in the fly is additionally used by men for urination without taking the trousers down
- to open and close pockets
- for attaching/detaching a hood and legs of trousers
- for decoration
History
An early device similar to the zip, 'an Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure', was patented in the USA by Elias Howe in 1851, but did not reach the market. Whitcomb Judson patented a similar 'Clasp Locker', for fastening shoes, in 1891 or 1893, and marketed the invention through his 'Universal Fastener' company. These two designs used hooks and eyes. The design used today, based on interlocking teeth, was invented by an employee of Judson's, Swedish scientist Gideon Sundback, in 1913 as the 'Hookless Fastener' and patented in 1917 as the 'Separable Fastener'. The B. F. Goodrich Company coined the name 'Zipper' in 1923, and used the device on tobacco pouches and boots. The zip became popular for children's clothing and men's trousers in the 1920s and 1930s. At this stage, the zip was permanently joined at one end, so could not be used to fasten jackets.Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Zipper."
Synonyms: ZipperSynonyms: slide fastener (n), zip-fastener (n), zip (v), zip up (v). (additional references) |
| Antonym: unzip (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Taciturnity | Verb: be silent; adj.; keep silence, keep mum; hold one's tongue, hold one's peace, hold one's jaw; not speak.; say nothing, keep one's counsel; seal the lips, close the lips, button the lips, zipper the lips, put a padlock on the lips, put a padlock on the mouth; put a bridle on one's tongue; bite one's tongue, keep one's tongue between one's teeth; make no sign, not let a word escape one; keep a secret; not have a word to say; hush up, hush, lay the finger on the lips, place the finger on the lips; render mute. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Zipper |
| English words defined with "zipper": cardigan ♦ fly, fly front ♦ mountain tent ♦ unzip ♦ zip, zip up. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "zipper": chain-machine operator ♦ FOLDING-MACHINE OPERATOR ♦ gusset folder ♦ INSPECTOR, SLIDE FASTENERS ♦ scoop-machine operator, SEAT JOINER, CHAINSTITCH, SEWING-MACHINE OPERATOR, ZIPPER, SLIDE-FASTENER REPAIRER, SLIDER ASSEMBLER, slider attacher ♦ UTILITY BAG ASSEMBLER ♦ ZIPPER CUTTER, zipper ironer, zipper measurer, zipper repairer, ZIPPER SETTER, ZIPPER SETTER, CHAINSTITCH, ZIPPER SETTER, LOCKSTITCH, ZIPPER TRIMMER, HAND, zipper-lining folder, ZIPPER-MACHINE OPERATOR, zipper-slide attacher. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | What the hell's gotten into you, I got my thingy stuck in my zipper and I got piss all over my pants (Tommy Boy; writing credit: Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner.) Here you've been in therapy, you know, thinking you blew it with the greatest girl ever, and really it turns out that getting your dick stuck in your zipper was the best thing that ever happened to you. (There's Something About Mary; writing credit: Ed Decter; John J. Strauss) He needs a zipper in his face (In Harm's Way; writing credit: James Bassett; Wendell Mayes) There's a guy at work who makes the zipper on my jeans melt (Ed's Next Move; writing credit: John Walsh) You put a twenty in your zipper and back out slowly (Titus; writing credit: Karl-Heinz Käfer) | |
Lyrics | And I don't even care to shake these zipper blues (1979; performing artist: Smashing Pumpkins) That we don't care to shake these zipper blues (1979; performing artist: Smashing Pumpkins) | |
Tongue Twisters | Zizzi's zippy zipper zips. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Never Give Up: The 20th Century Odyssey of Herbert Zipper (1995) Lola Zipper (1991) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Play | Caption |
 | Zipper zipping closed; zipping. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Zipper" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Zipper" is used about 59 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 59 | 44,010 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "zipper": leucine zipper ♦ zipper bag. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "zipper": zipper-crazed, zipper-dependent, zipper-linked. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
zipper | 345 | bag manufacturer zipper | 13 |
von zipper | 168 | motor zipper | 12 |
picture zipper | 150 | fix a zipper | 12 |
zipper bag | 110 | zipper wallet | 12 |
zipper interactive | 84 | zipper binder | 12 |
zipper pull | 57 | bag thailand zipper | 12 |
von zipper sun glasses | 52 | bag exporter zipper | 12 |
back dress set short zipper zipper | 33 | magazine zipper | 11 |
zipper repair | 31 | sew zipper | 11 |
rusty zipper | 24 | man wallet zipper | 10 |
memory zipper | 24 | cover shorts size zipper | 10 |
zipper plastic bag | 23 | carnival ride zipper | 9 |
ykk zipper | 19 | theater zipper | 9 |
tie zipper | 18 | eric von zipper | 8 |
zipper boot | 17 | swimsuit zipper | 8 |
zipper worm | 15 | nut squirrel zipper | 8 |
ride zipper | 15 | inventor zipper | 8 |
memory plus zipper | 14 | hat von zipper | 7 |
zipper manufacturer | 14 | bag food zipper | 7 |
history zipper | 14 | invention zipper | 7 |
first in patented year zipper | 7 | ||
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "zipper"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | zinxhir (caterpillar, chain, cords, fetters, leash, shackle, slide fastener, zip). (various references) | |
Arabic | سستة. (various references) | |
Blackfoot | áwaamisskapataa. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | цип (fastener, slide fastener, zip, zip fastener). (various references) | |
Chinese | 拉". (various references) | |
Czech | zip (zip fastener), zdrhovadlo (zip fastener). (various references) | |
Danish | lynlås (slide fastener). (various references) | |
Dutch | treksluiting, ritssluiting, rits (groove, score). (various references) | |
Esperanto | zipo. (various references) | |
Farsi | زیب لباس(که بجای دکمه بکارمیرود), زیب دار. (various references) | |
Finnish | vetoketju (fastener, zip). (various references) | |
French | fermeture-éclair, fermeture glissière (zip, zip fastener). (various references) | |
German | Reißverschluss (zip, zip fastener), reißverschluß. (various references) | |
Greek | φερμουάρ (zip, zip fastener). (various references) | |
Hebrew | ריצ' רצ', רוכסן (fastener, zip, zip fastener). (various references) | |
Hungarian | cipzár (flies, zip, zip fastener). (various references) | |
Indonesian | resleting. (various references) | |
Italian | chiusura lampo, cerniera lampo (zip), cerniera (hinge). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | チフス菌 (a channel, chaff, chalk, Chalmers, champion, champion flag, championship belt, chance, channel, channelling, chapel, chapter, charge, charity, Charleston, charm, charm point, charming, chart, chart file, charter, chat, chattering, child, child seat, chime, China, Chinese, Chinese collar, chunk, church, key-bounce, Mandarin collar, most attractive feature, opportunity, pennant, self-challenge, Tchaikovsky, Tibet, trying hard to do something, typhoid bacillus), ファジー理論 (facsimile, faschia, fashion, fashion coordinator, fashion editor, fashion food, fashion industry, fashion massage, fashion model, fashion show, fashionable, fast on, fastener, fast-food, fast-track, FAX, first base, fuzzy theory), ジカルボン酸 (dicarboxylic acid, dicyanogen, diphenyl, diphtheria, distemper, distoma, dysprosium, dystrophy, feminine form of gigolo, gigolette, gigolo, gigue, Givenchy, Gypsy, gypsy look, Holy War, Japanese Industrial Standard, Jekyll and Hyde, jib, jig, jigsaw puzzle, JIS, JIS mark, jitter, jitterbug, syphilis, zig-zag, zigzag demonstration, ZIP code, Zipangu, Zippo). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | チャック , ファスナー (fastener), ジッパー . (various references) | |
Norwegian | glidelås. (various references) | |
Papiamen | ziper, zip. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ipperzay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | zíper (slide fastener), fecho de correr (slide fastener, zip-fastener). (various references) | |
Romanian | fermoar (snap). (various references) | |
Russian | молния (levin, lightning). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | rajsfešlus (zip, zip fastener), patent otvarač (zip fastener). (various references) | |
Spanish | cremallera (rack, slidefastener, zip, zip fastener). (various references) | |
Swahili | zipu. (various references) | |
Swedish | blixtlås (zip, zip fastener). (various references) | |
Thai | ซิป (zip). (various references) | |
Turkish | fermuar (fastener, zip fastener). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | змійка, застібка-блискавка (slide fastener, zip, zip fastener). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "zipper": zippered, zippering, zippers. (additional references) | |
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"Zipper" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: gipper, jipper, zaper, zappa, zeper, zipa, zipe, zipet, Zipfel, zipher, zippee, zippel. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "zipper" (pronounced zi"per) |
| 3 | -i" p er | chipper, clipper, dipper, flipper, gipper, Hipper, kipper, Lipper, nipper, ripper, shipper, skipper, slipper, stripper, Tipper, tripper. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "e-i-p-p-r-z" | |
-1 letter: piper, prize. | |
-2 letters: peri, perp, pier, pipe, prep, prez, repp, ripe. | |
-3 letters: ire, pep, per, pie, pip, rei, rep, rip, zip. | |
-4 letters: er, pe, pi, re. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-i-p-p-r-z" | |
+1 letter: apprize, zappier, zippers, zippier. | |
+2 letters: apprized, apprizer, apprizes, peptizer, zippered. | |
+3 letters: appetizer, apprizers, pauperize, peptizers, zippering. | |
+4 letters: appetizers, pauperized, pauperizes, piperazine, popularize. | |
+5 letters: pauperizing, piperazines, popularized, popularizer, popularizes. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Sounds 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Derivations | 13. Rhymes 14. Anagrams 15. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
