squeegee en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /skwiːˈd͡ʒiː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈskwiˌd͡ʒi/ (General-American)
- audio -
- /ˈskwiːd͡ʒiː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (General-American) audio
Etymology
The noun is probably derived from squeege (“(informal, dated) to squeeze”, verb) (an intensified form of squeeze (verb)) + -ee (suffix attached to verbs to form nouns meaning persons or things that are the subjects of the verbs). Compare earlier squilgee, squillgee (“tool in the form of a mop or swab, or a blade with a long handle, used for cleaning and/or drying a vessel’s deck”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Meanings
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A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.
This machine, […] consists of a timber cylinder revolving on an axle, […] The cylinder is armed externally with diagonally-fixed scrapers, squeegees, or brushes.
1866 November 1, “Phillip’s Patent Rotary Cylinder for Cleaning Ship‘s Bottoms”, in W[illia]m Smith, editor, The Artizan: A Monthly Record of the Progress of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Shipbuilding, Steam Navigation, the Application of Chemistry to the Industrial Arts, &c., volume IV (3rd Series; volume XXIV overall), number 47, London: […] [Henry Judd for the] Office of the “Artizan” Journal, […], →OCLC, page 248, column 1:
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A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle. ▸ A long-handled tool with a blade used for cleaning and/or drying surfaces, or for levelling paths, roadways, etc.
This roadway is paved with granite blocks laid in the usual sand cement cushion layer, about 1 inch thick, with the joints filled with hot asphalt mixed with heated sand. By means of squeegees, a thin coating, sprinkled with sand, is left upon the surface, resulting in a smooth, resilient, and long-wearing surface that will help to deaden the sounds due to traffic, and be more quickly repaired than concrete.
1931, Carl C. Gray, H. F. Hagen, “[General Appendix] The Eighth Wonder: The Holland Vehicular Tunnel”, in Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution […] (Publication 3077), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, pages 584–585:[F]our men were employed in playing the jets, two in moving the hose from place to place, and four with brooms in sweeping the surfaces of the asphalte and keeping the channels free from straw and larger refuse; they also used squeegees to dry the surface of the asphalte, it being thought desirable that it should be left as dry as possible, […]
1873 March 22, William Haywood, “Washing the Streets”, in George Godwin, editor, The Builder. An Illustrated Weekly Magazine for the Architect, Engineer, Archæologist, Constructor, Sanitary Reformer, and Art-lover, volume XXXI, number 1572, London: Wyman & Sons, […], →OCLC, page 229, column 2:
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A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle. ▸ A short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.
For roughly the same cost as two bottles of bathroom cleaner, it is now possible to buy a small squeegee and a microfibre cloth. If you can, buy a squeegee that also has a sucker attachment to enable it to be stuck somewhere convenient and always at hand the moment you emerge gleaming from your ablutions.
2017, Edward Dickens, “Keep the Shower Room Clean”, in 101 Amazing Dad Skills, London: Portico, Pavilion Books Company, →ISBN:
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A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle. ▸ A long-handled tool with a blade used on ships for swabbing decks and spreading protective coatings.
But now the old ship had a new flavor all her own. Her decks were slippery with [whale] oil; […] "Here, yew two!" Eph shouted as they stood shivering in the sudden chill. "Git them squeegees and scrape this ile to'ards the try works. Lively now, afore it gits out th' scuppers."
1923 April 7, [Aylward Edward] Dingle, “The Spouter. Chapter VIII.”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 195, number 41, Philadelphia, Pa.; London: Curtis Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 40, column 1:As for holy-stoning the decks [of the yacht], I set my face against that from the first; it is the worst description of nervous torture of which I ever heard, excepting perhaps, the infliction of the squee gee, which, as its name almost implies, sets every tooth in one's head on edge for a week.
1844, [Matilda Charlotte Fraser] Houstoun, chapter III, in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico; or Yachting in the New World: […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 39:
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(historical) A tool consisting of a roller attached to a handle, used for applying pressure, removing liquid, etc. ▸ A street-cleaning machine consisting of a roller with blades pulled by a horse.
Experiments during the previous year in street washing by squeegee and flushing machines proved so successful that this method has been permanently adopted and the work will be extended as funds are available. The squeegee machines are operated in batteries of one sprinkler and three squeegees, the sprinkler operated some distance ahead to allow the dirt which has become baked and stuck to the pavement to be softened by the absorption of water and easily dislodged by the squeegees. With one battery, which works in the hilly section of the city, it has been found necessary to use three horses in each squeegee machine.
1912 September 3, J. W. Paxton, “Report of the Superintendent of Street Cleaning”, in Annual Report of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia: Year Ended June 30, 1912, volume II (Engineer Department Reports), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 66:
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A tool consisting of a roller attached to a handle, used for applying pressure, removing liquid, etc. ▸ A tool used to press film into a mount, remove excess moisture from a print, etc.; a squeezer.
The transfer of the image from paper on to the glass is very easy. The paper is immersed in water, and placed in contact with a glass plate. The superfluous moisture being removed by a squeegee, the paper may then be stripped off, leaving the gelatine on the glass.
1885, C[harles] G[eorge] Warnford Lock, “[Photography—Gelatine Processes.] Gelatino-bromide Film Paper.”, in Workshop Receipts (4th Series), London; New York, N.Y.: E[rnest] & F. N. Spon, […], →OCLC, page 371, column 1:
- A tool consisting of a roller attached to a handle, used for applying pressure, removing liquid, etc. ▸ A tool with a roller or blade used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing.
- (slang) A person who uses a squeegee (noun sense 1.2); specifically, one who makes an unsolicited attempt to clean the windshield of a car stopped at a traffic light and then requests payment; a squeegee bandit.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| squeegees | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
squeegee thug · squeegee band · squeegee bandit · squeegee kid · squeegee merchant · squeegeeman · squeegee mop · squeegeelike
Synonyms
squilgee · squeegee thug · squeegee kid
Translations (66)
pl ściągaczka (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · it tergivetro (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · he מַגֵּב (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · fi ikkunalasta (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · ja スキージー (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · de Abzieher (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · pl rakla (tool used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing) · ru рези́новая шва́бра (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · de Gummiwischer (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · fr raclette (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · es secador (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · nl raamwisser (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · fr raclette (tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber, etc., attached at a right angle to a handle) · cs stěrka (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · ca eixugavidres (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · pl rakiel (tool used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing) · ru ра́кель (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · nl rakel (tool used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing) · tg сеҳрнок (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · ky ракеля (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · mi rautahi (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · el ρακλέτα (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · hy գլանակ (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · fi hevosvetoinen katupesuri (street-cleaning machine consisting of a roller with blades pulled by a horse) · ru водосго́н (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · de Gummiabzieher (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · nl trekker (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · da svaber (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · es haragán (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · sv fönsterskrapa (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · cs rakle (tool used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing) · kk ракель (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · hu gumiélű ablaktörlő (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · tr çekçek (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · nn nal (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · es lampazo (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · fi lasta (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · it lavavetri (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · ru скребо́к (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · sv skrapa (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · es jalador (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · cmn 刮刀刮水刷 (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · tl elastikong panlampaso (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · fi lasta (tool used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing) · bg стъргалка за прозорци (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · ar مَسَّاحَة (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · cs stěrka (tool used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing) · pt rodo (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · cs těrka (tool used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing) · nb nal (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · cy gwesgi (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · fi lastalla pyyhkijä (person who uses a squeegee) · pl odciągacz (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · ja スクイージー (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · hu ablaklehúzó (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · fa-ira تِی (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · is skafa (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · hy քերոց (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · vls trekker (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · nl vloertrekker (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · de Rakel (tool used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing) · io kauchuka swabro (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · ko 고무래 (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · fi lasta (tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber, etc., attached at a right angle to a handle) · af raamwisser (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.) · it seccatoio (short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.)