squeegee

The story

The noun is probably derived from squeege (“(informal, dated) to squeeze”, verb) (an intensified form of squeeze (verb)) + -ee (suffix attached to verbs to form nouns meaning persons or things that are the subjects of the verbs). Compare earlier squilgee, squillgee (“tool in the form of a mop or swab, or a blade with a long handle, used for cleaning and/or drying a vessel’s deck”). The verb is derived from the noun.

First known use, by meaning

• from mid 19th c. A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.
• from mid 19th c. A long-handled tool with a blade used for cleaning and/or drying surfaces, or for levelling paths, roadways, etc.
• from mid 19th c. A short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.
• from mid 19th c. A long-handled tool with a blade used on ships for swabbing decks and spreading protective coatings.
• from late 19th c. A tool used to press film into a mount, remove excess moisture from a print, etc.; a squeezer.
• from late 20th c. A person who uses a squeegee (noun sense 1.2); specifically, one who makes an unsolicited attempt to clean the windshield of a car stopped at a traffic light and then requests payment; a squeegee bandit.
• from late 19th c. Sometimes followed by down, out, together, etc.: to press or spread (a substance) using a squeegee (noun sense); also, to use a squeegee on (something, such as a surface).