Marcel

//mɑː(ɹ)ˈsɛl// name, noun, verb

name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A hairstyle characterized by deep waves made by a curling iron.
  2. 2
    a hairdo characterized by deep regular waves that are made by a heated curling iron wordnet
  3. 3
    A marcel wave.
Verb
  1. 1
    To wave (hair) by the marcel method. transitive

    "Like women sitting for two hours under the marcelling irons only to wonder two days later how soon they would need another appointment."

  2. 2
    make a marcel in a woman's hair wordnet
  3. 3
    To wave. figuratively, transitive
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A male given name from French.
  2. 2
    A village in North Goa district, Goa, India.

Example

More examples

"Even though Marcel works hard, he only earns 30 000 Canadian dollars per year."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Apparently from the French name Marcel, but accounts vary regarding who invented the style.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French Marcel, from Latin Marcellus, diminutive of Marcus. Doublet of Marcellus.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.