Short Description
A zipper consists of a slider mounted on two rows of metal or plastic teeth that are designed to interlock and thereby join the material to which the rows are attached. The slider, usually operated by hand, contains a Y-shaped channel that, by moving along the rows of teeth, meshes or separates them, depending on the direction of the slider’s movement. The teeth may be individually discrete or shaped from a continuous coil, and are also referred to as elements. The word zipper is onomatopoetic because it was named for the sound the device makes when used, a high-pitched zip.
A zipper consists of a slider mounted on two rows of metal or plastic teeth that are designed to interlock and thereby join the material to which the rows are attached. The slider, usually operated by hand, contains a Y-shaped channel that, by moving along the rows of teeth, meshes or separates them, depending on the direction of the slider’s movement. The teeth may be individually discrete or shaped from a continuous coil, and are also referred to as elements. The word zipper is onomatopoetic because it was named for the sound the device makes when used, a high-pitched zip.
Zippers may:
- Increase or decrease the size of an opening to allow or restrict the passage of objects, as in the fly of trousers or in a pocket.
- Join or separate two ends or sides of a single garment, as in the front of a jacket, or on the front, back, or side of a dress or skirt to facilitate dressing.
