Squeegee

A squeegee or squilgee is a tool with a flat, smooth rubber blade, used to remove or control the flow of liquid on a flat surface. It is used for cleaning and in printing.

The earliest written references to squeegees date from the mid-18th century and concern deck-cleaning tools, some with leather rather than rubber blades. The name "squeegee" may come from the word "squeege", meaning press or squeeze, which was first recorded in 1783.^[1] The closely related "squeedging" was reportedly first used in 1782, in the Covent Garden Theatre,^[2] during the performing of the comedy Which is the Man? by Hannah Cowley.^[3]^[4]

^ "squeege". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ Cowley, Hannah (1813). "The Works of Mrs. Cowley: Dramas and Poems (In three volumes)". London. p. 318. Retrieved July 31, 2016. This Comedy was brought out at Covent Garden Theatre in the year 1782.
^ Greenwald, Ken (December 13, 2014). "Squeegee". Wordwizard. Retrieved July 31, 2016. [...] the OED [Oxford English Dictionary], which defines 'squeege' as a strengthened form of 'squeeze,' tells us that 'squeege' had been used as a verb some half century earlier than 'squilgee' came on the scene and gives the following 1782 nautical example. Also, to go from 'squeege' to 'squeegee' seems to me like a pretty logical progression: <1782 "Such clattering, and SQUEEDGING ['squeeging'] down the gangway staircase."—'Which is the Man?' by H. Cowley>
^ Cowley, Hannah (1813). "The Works of Mrs. Cowley: Dramas and Poems (In three volumes)". London. p. 382. Retrieved July 31, 2016. [...] At length, when the Assembly broke up, such Clattering and squeedging down the gangway staircase! whilst the little Footboy bawled up from the Passage [...]

[1] "squeege". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[2] Cowley, Hannah (1813). "The Works of Mrs. Cowley: Dramas and Poems (In three volumes)". London. p. 318. Retrieved July 31, 2016. This Comedy was brought out at Covent Garden Theatre in the year 1782.

[3] Greenwald, Ken (December 13, 2014). "Squeegee". Wordwizard. Retrieved July 31, 2016. [...] the OED [Oxford English Dictionary], which defines 'squeege' as a strengthened form of 'squeeze,' tells us that 'squeege' had been used as a verb some half century earlier than 'squilgee' came on the scene and gives the following 1782 nautical example. Also, to go from 'squeege' to 'squeegee' seems to me like a pretty logical progression: <1782 "Such clattering, and SQUEEDGING ['squeeging'] down the gangway staircase."—'Which is the Man?' by H. Cowley>

[4] Cowley, Hannah (1813). "The Works of Mrs. Cowley: Dramas and Poems (In three volumes)". London. p. 382. Retrieved July 31, 2016. [...] At length, when the Assembly broke up, such Clattering and squeedging down the gangway staircase! whilst the little Footboy bawled up from the Passage [...]

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