shaper

English

Etymology

From Middle English shapper, shapere, schapare, scaper, scheppere, schuppere, alteration (perhaps due to Old Norse skaperi, skapari) of Old English sċyppend, sċieppend (“shaper; maker; creator”), equivalent to shape +‎ -er. Cognate with Dutch schepper, German Schöpfer, Danish skaber, Swedish skapare, Icelandic skapari.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃeɪpə(ɹ)/ enPR: shāʹpər

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

  Rhymes: -eɪpə(ɹ)

Noun

shaper (plural shapers)

1. One who shapes.

   the shaper of one's fortunes

   • 1876, James Russell Lowell, “Dante”, in Among My Books: Second Series:

     The secret of those old shapers died with them.

2. A machine tool in which a single-point cutting tool mounted on a reciprocating ram is traversed across the workpiece linearly. Shapers can generate various shapes, but were most especially employed in generating flat surfaces and keyways. The shaper is nowadays obsolescent, most of its applications being served by milling machines.
3. (surfing) A person who designs and builds surfboards.

Coordinate terms

(machine tool):

• slotter
• see others at machine tool § Hyponyms

Related terms

• glasser

Translations

A machine tool

• Czech: obrážečka f
• Dutch: schaafbank (nl) c
• French : étau-limeur (fr) m
• German: Stoßmaschine f
• Italian: limatrice (it) f
• Polish: strugarka (pl) f
• Spanish: limadora (es) f
• Swedish: kipphyvel, bordsfräs (sv) c

Anagrams

• E sharp, E-sharp, Harpes, Sharpe, Sherpa, Spehar, e sharp, e-sharp, harpes, hepars, pasher, phares, phaser, phrase, raphes, seraph, sharpe, sherpa, shrape, sphear