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zipper

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(zip′ər)

☆

noun

a person or thing that zips
a device used to fasten and unfasten two adjoining edges of material, as on the placket of a dress, the fly of a pair of trousers, etc.: it consists of two rows of tiny interlocking tabs which are joined or separated by sliding a part up or down
an oblong, horizontal, rectangular electronic sign on which moving messages of text, data, etc. may be scrolled, using flashing lights, LED displays, etc.

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to fasten or become fastened by means of a zipper

See zipper in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A fastening device consisting of parallel rows of metal, plastic, or nylon teeth on adjacent edges of an opening that are interlocked by a sliding tab.

tr. & intr.v. zip·pered, zip·per·ing, zip·pers

To fasten or unfasten or become fastened or unfastened with a zipper; zip.

Origin:

Origin: Originally a trademark

Word History: Trademark laws exist to prevent the appropriation of words like zipper. Registered in 1925, zipper was originally a B.F. Goodrich trademark for overshoes with fasteners. A Goodrich executive is said to have slid the fastener up and down on the boot and exclaimed, “Zip 'er up,” echoing the sound made by this clever device. Zip already existed as both a noun and verb referring to a light sharp sound or to motion accompanied by that kind of sound (zip was first recorded as a noun in 1875; as a verb, in 1852). Both words were imitations of the sound made by a rapidly moving object. As the fastener that “zipped” came to be used in other articles, its name was used as well. B.F. Goodrich sued to protect its trademark but was allowed to retain proprietary rights only over Zipper Boots. Zipper itself had moved into the world of common nouns.

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