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Glite Dictionary
curl paper

curl paper

8.1
A thin soft paper used to wrap a lock of hair to make curls
  • noun
translation icon : papel rizado
  • She wrapped her damp hair with a curl paper for the night.

Examples

  • Old-fashioned hairdressers sometimes still use curl paper when setting curls.

  • Each lock was carefully rolled in a curl paper to achieve tighter ringlets.

  • She used a curl paper to style her hair.

  • Do you have any curl papers for my hair?

  • To create beautiful curls, the stylist rolled the hair in a curl paper and secured it with a clip.

  • Before the party, she carefully organized the curl paper to prepare for her hairstyle.

  • The beautician showed her how to use a curl paper to set her locks overnight.

Surface Forms

curl paper singular
curl papers plural

Morphology

curl + paper

The noun–noun composition 'curl paper' is directly interpretable as 'paper used for curls' (paper for curling hair), following a common English pattern where X + paper denotes paper for X (e.g. 'toilet paper', 'wrapping paper'). A B1 learner who knows 'curl' (ringlet) and 'paper' can readily infer this functional meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Curl paper is a small, soft sheet of paper that hairdressers wrap around a damp lock of hair to make a curl. That's why the name describes 'a piece of soft paper used to wrap a lock of hair for curling'.