Dictionary

clearstarch en · VERB

Etymology

From clear + starch.

Meanings

1. (archaic, transitive) To stiffen with starch, and then make clear by clapping with the hands.
   • to clearstarch caps
   • Had always said and believed that Pickwick would marry Mrs. Bardell; knew that Mrs. Bardell's being engaged to Pickwick was the current topic of conversation in the neighbourhood, after the fainting in July; had been told it herself by Mrs. Mudberry which kept a mangle, and Mrs. Bunkin which clearstarched, but did not see either Mrs. Mudberry or Mrs. Bunkin in court. 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:
   • to clearstarch muslin

Forms

Deriveds

clearstarcher