earpiecen.
/ˈɪəpiːs/, U.S. /ˈɪ(ə)rˌpis/ 1. A part of a hat, helmet, etc., that covers the ears; an ear flap or ear guard.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > parts of headgear > [noun] > part which covers ears
lug1495
oreillet1548
ear1579
earpiece1653
ear lappet1670
ear flap1823
ear guard1842
ear tab1855
ear muff1859
1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. xiii. 62 I wiped me with some ear-pieces [Fr. des aureillettes] of hers made of Crimson sattin.
1752 tr. E. F. Gersaint Catal. Etchings Rembrandt 137 The Cap has Ear-pieces that hang down.
a1843 R. Southey Common-place Bk. (1849) 2nd Ser. 644/1 The morion should be without ear-pieces.
1925 Cent. Mag. Jan. 368/2 It was his own suggestion that for the helmet I buy at the hardware-store next door an angel-cake pan with slides at the sides, which, when the pan was inverted for a helmet, would provide ear-pieces.
1971 J. Mortimer tr. C. Zuckmayer Captain of Köpenick i. i. 4 She particularly wanted this fur hat, with ear pieces!
2006 H. Stobart Music & Poetics of Production in Bolivian Andes vi. 163 A white felt hat is worn over a woollen ch'ulu hat with earpieces, knitted by the men.
2. On a pair of glasses: either of the curved or shaped parts which fit around the ear. Usually in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > ophthalmology or optometry > aids to defective vision > [noun] > spectacles > other parts of spectacles
bow1711
frame1729
rims1766
earpiece1824
side glass1830
nosepiece1866
temple1877
nose1895
nose-bridge1923
1824 Message from President transmitting Digest Commerc. Regulations Foreign Nations 496 (table) in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (18th Congr., 1st Sess.: House of Representatives Doc. 130) VII Spectacles,..with ear pieces of iron and steel.
1888 Jrnl. Royal Microsc. Soc. 283 a, a are the ear-pieces, b, b the plates to which the ear-pieces a, a are hinged, c, c are the spectacle glasses..to which the plates b1, b1 attached to the nose-piece d are also screwed.
1923 A. Huxley Antic Hay x. 156 For business, tortoiseshell rims and nickel ear-pieces lend incisive poise.
1938 W. J. Blake World is Mine x. 163 He..had pedantic eyeglasses with thin gold earpieces.
1995 V. Glendinning Electricity (1996) i. 6 He took the spectacles off.., folded the wire earpieces carefully over the lenses, and laid them beside his place.
3. The part of a telephone, hearing aid, or other audio device that is worn on or held against the ear (in later use esp. one which fits into the ear).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > audibility > sound magnification or reproduction > [noun] > earphone(s)
earpiece1853
earphone1881
headphone1882
phone1884
ear bud1983
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > reception of signals > instrument for > earphones
earpiece1853
earphone1881
headphone1882
phone1884
headset1900
ear tabc1909
can1927
1853 W. O. Markham tr. J. Skoda Treat. Auscultation 29 The ear-piece [of a stethoscope] may be convex, concave, or plane, provided the disk forming it be large enough to close the ear completely.
1882 Leisure Hour 31 312/1 In front of the coil is placed a thin disc of iron (H), which is fitted into an ear-piece (I) [of the telephone].
1904 F. Lynde Grafters xxvii. 352 The train-master dropped the ear-piece of the telephone.
1962 Which? Feb. 42/2 Table I shows which radios had earpieces, sometimes included in the price.
2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 10 Sept. b4/6 Dr. Gee roams the office with his tablet PC and a Bluetooth ear piece.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1653