Nipple (pronounced nip-uhl)
(1) In anatomy, the small, conical projection near the
center of the areola of each mammary gland (breast); also called mamilla,
papilla or teat. In females, the nipple
contains the outlets of the milk ducts.
(2) Something resembling (often in scaled-up form) a
female’s niipple, as the mouthpiece of a nursing bottle or pacifier (in some
places an informal word for a pacifier).
(3) Any device resembling a nipple in shape or function.
(4) A mechanical device through which liquids or gases
can be passed in a regulated manner; as grease nipple a small drilled bush,
usually screwed into a bearing (or other component needing periodic
replenishment of a greasing agent) through which grease is introduced.
(5) In plumbing & gas-fitting, a short piece of pipe
with threads on each end, used for joining valves.
(6) Any small physical protrusion on an automotive, a
machine part or any other part that fits into a groove on another part (now rare).
(7) In computer hardware, the pointing device in the
centre of the keyboard of certain laptops, partially fulfilling the functionality
of a mouse, trackball or track-pad (although some (usually male) users insist
it is called “the clit”).
(8) In pre-modern ballistics, a perforated segment that
fits into part of the breech of a muzzle-loading gun, on which the percussion
cap is fixed.
(9) In the design of bicycles, an internally threaded
piece which holds a bicycle spoke in place on the rim.
(10) To fit (a baby's bottle etc) with a nipple (archaic).
(11) To give one's nipple to (a baby) to allow
breastfeeding (archaic).
1520–1530: From the Middle English nipple, from the earlier neble, nibble, nible & nepil (all of which may be derived from nib & neb (tip; point). The Old English nypel (elephant’s trunk) was formed analogously as “a protuberance from one's neb”. The late twelfth century pap & pappe (nipple of a woman's breast) was first attested in Northern and Midlands writing, probably from a Scandinavian source (there’s no record in the Old Norse but there was the dialectal Swedish pappe), from the primitive Indo-European imitative root pap- (to swell), the source also of the Latin papilla (nipple) which may have influenced the English papula (a swelling, pimple) and the Lithuanian papas (nipple). The spellings neple, nypil, nyppell, neapel, neaple, neble and all obsolete. Nipple is a noun & verb, nippling is a verb and nippleless & nippled are adjectives; the noun plural is nipples.
One extinct verb which, perhaps surprisingly, wasn’t revived even after it became apparent trends of use on the internet suggested it might be helpful, was expapillate (bare the breasts to the nipples), identified by the outstandingly good OnlineEtymology Dictionary as an entry in an early English "dictionary", published in eleven editions between 1623 and the 1650s. The book was neither a prescriptive or descriptive work encompassing the whole language but was described as “An Interpreter of Hard English Words”, an approach others later took including Wilfred Funk (1883–1965) in his Word Origins and Their Romantic Stories (1950), the idea being to focus on the less known or more obscure. The construct of expapillate was ex- + papillate. The ex- prefix was from the Middle English, from words borrowed from the Middle French, from the Latin ex (out of, from), from the primitive Indo-European eǵ- & eǵs- (out). It was cognate with the Ancient Greek ἐξ (ex) (out of, from), the Transalpine Gaulish ex- (out), the Old Irish ess- (out), the Old Church Slavonic изъ (izŭ) (out) & the Russian из (iz) (from, out of). The “x” in “ex-“, sometimes is elided before certain constants, reduced to e- (eg ejaculate). The Latin papillate was the vocative masculine singular of papillātus (having nipples or buds; shaped like a nipple or bud) and was used in English as a transitive verb (to cover with papillae) and intransitive verb (to take the form of a papilla, or of papillae).
Jaguar tool kit supplied with 1966 E-Type (XKE). The grease gun (left) was used to force grease into various components through grease nipples. This was a regular part of automobile maintenance until recent decades and is still a feature of the maintenance schedules of heavy vehicles and machinery.
Until the 1970s, it was common for cars to need periodic “greasing”
of certain components, a process which involved attaching a “grease gun” to a “grease
nipple” which was permanently mounted to the relevant part and manually, the
gun (usually a type of plunger) was used to force grease through the
nipple. This was undertaken either by
owners, chauffeurs or mechanics at service stations who routinely would perform
an “oil and grease” (changing the engine (and sometimes the gearbox and
differential) oil, replacing the filter(s) and greasing all required grease
points. On more expensive vehicles, “one-shot
lubrication” systems (known also as centralized lubrication systems (CLS) or
automated lubrication systems (ALS) were introduced during the 1920s, the
technology adapted from those used in aviation.
Although some attempts were made to create wholly automated systems, the
most widely used were those which incorporated a foot pump for the driver to press
at specified intervals; this action forced grease from a central reservoir to
the required points. Being a sealed
system, this meant that nowhere in the system were grease nipples required (although
some may still have been fitted to parts which required less frequent attention. ALS systems remain common in many places
including heavy machinery, ships and the industrial plant used in factories, power
plants etc.
The standard grease nipple used on the Jaguar E-Type (XKE) (left) and a diagram with a legend listing the E-Type's oil, brake fluid, transmission fluid and grease nipple locations. The grease nipples are indicated by the obelus (†).
In automobiles, by the 1970s the need for multiple grease
points or one-shot lubrication had begun to be eliminated (although some older
designs maintained the legacy for decades) as advances in metallurgy and
lubrication technology permitted the development of sealed, maintenance-free
components which are “packed with grease" and thus “lubricated for life”. However, for heavy-duty machines such as trucks
and earth-moving equipment operating in adverse conditions, there are often
still components demanding regular greasing and thus grease nipples are still a
thing.
The SKIMS Nipple Bra
Wearing it well: Kim Kardashian in SKIMS "nipple bra"
The admirable (and much admired) Kim Kardashian (b 1980)
in October 2023 announced the latest addition to her SKIMS product line: a bra
with “built in” nipples, designed to be prominent enough obviously to protrude through clothing. Said to offer the “ultimate
shock factor” (although after the shocks of the last decade-odd, some of which
members of the Kardashian clan have instigated, that may be hyperbolic) the viewer
response suggested many weren’t certain whether product was real or a gimmick
designed to attract publicity. It
certainly attracted publicity but turned out to be a real with a SKIMS' part number. Even if the concept wasn't as “innovative” as
claimed, the promotional approach in the video certainly was, the spin being
that if women can don a bra to emulate one of the better known consequences of cold
weather, the psychological effect might be such that they’ll be less inclined
to turn on (or up) the air-conditioner, thus reducing energy use, thereby lowering
carbon emissions, meaning a lesser contribution to the concentration of atmospheric CO2 (and
other greenhouse gasses) which causes accelerated climate change including
higher temperatures. That seems to be drawing a long bow but doubtlessly somewhere there will be published research
which can be spun to support (or at least not disprove) each of the steps in the Kardashian logic.
As Ms Kardashian put it: “The earth’s temperature is getting hotter and hotter. Sea levels are rising. The ice sheets are shrinking. I’m no scientist, but I believe everyone can do their skillset to do their part. That’s why I’m introducing a brand-new bra with a built-in nipple so matter how hot it is, you’ll always look cold. Some days are hard but these nipples are harder. And unlike the icebergs, these aren’t going anywhere.” The bra will be available in six colors and a stated “10% of sales” (the exact math of that calculation not disclosed) will be given in a “one off donation” to 1% for the Planet (a multi-national collective of businesses pledged to gifting at least 1% of the annual revenue to “environmental causes”). So it sounds like a real product with a real part-number (not yet listed) but there were those who thought the release date being Halloween (October 31) suggested it might not be wholly serious. Even if not, it was a good promotional video, the only opportunity missed being Ms Kardashian should first have appeared in a scientist's white lab coat, peeling it off as she spoke the words "I'm no scientist".
The 1970s: Rudi's sheer bra (left & right) and the original Nipple Bra.
It’s actually not a new idea. In the early 1970s, several manufacturers advertised a line of bras with cups in a sheer fabric which offered coverage and support but clung to the nipples' definition. This approach was for those who wanted to display the profile of their own nipples. The "Nipple Bra" offered enhanced engineering and the ancestor of the new SKIMS bra used the same concept: built-in nipples, the spin all those decades ago being the look was “so provocative” and in 1975 to achieve that the “Nipple Bra” cost US$20 (US$114.42 adjusted for 2023) so Ms Kardashian setting her price at US$120.00 seems not unreasonable. The somewhat obtuse contribution to averting climate change aside, reaction to the product included the observation the bra will provide permanently “perfectly aligned nipples”, something not always achieved by the real things because, like most body parts, between left and right, there’s often some variation in size, shape, direction or distance from the ground. Like many aspects of structural engineering, “perfect alignment” is achieved with slight adjustments.
A nipple patch (left), the nipple patch writ large to function as a special-purpose bra (centre) and the advertising concept (right) which could be used by the manufacturers of either the "nipple bra" or the "nipple patch". All that would be required is transposing the photographs, depending on whether the object was to display or conceal.
However, while one niche market will like the idea of
being “so provocative”, there are others who find the sight of their own
nipples “too provocative” and for this niche, there are ranges of products
which offer coverage and concealment, smoothing away any suggestion of a nipple
with patches which can be worn under bras with cups of even the most sheer
fabric. Self-adhesive (using a
skin-friendly temporary glue), they can also be used without a bra and the same
technology has been adapted to larger-scale units which actually function as a
bra. Marketed as being ideal to be used
when wearing “backless” dresses or tops, they’re also said to be easier to use
than the “fashion tape” (better known in the industry as “booby tape” or “tit
tape”), especially if being self-applied.
Helpfully, if one changes one’s mind after having smoothed away the nipples,
stick-on nipples are available in a range of styles and colors.
No accessories required: Lindsay Lohan displays “perfect alignment”.
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