What is the Origin of the Word Squegee?

I’m sure that at some point in your life, you experienced having to sit in a restaurant next to the window and observe someone cleaning the windows using a brilliant device called the squegee.  Sure, you know what a squegee is and what it’s for, but only a few people know the origin of the word squegee. 

Although many people would dismiss this question as trivial and frivolous, there are those who enjoy knowing the answers to odd and quirky questions.  As petty as it seems, there’s still a sense of joy and accomplishment in discovering the “why’s” and “how’s” of everyday things.   

Sure, it’s amazing to be able to explain scientific phenomena and complicated mathematical expressions, but remember, it’s always the simplest questions that are the hardest to answer.  Something that could seem as insignificant as the squegee could have interesting and fascinating origins too. 

The word squegee first appeared in the year 1844, and can be used either as a noun or a transitive verb.  There are variations of the word squegee, including squeegee and squilgee.   

The device is made of a blade of rubber or leather set on a handle and is used for wiping, pushing, or spreading liquid off, across, or on a flat surface, such as a window.  It is usually used for cleaning and printing. 
 
Originally, the squilgee was used by fishermen to scrape scales and fish blood from the boat deck, and to push the water off board after the deck is washed.  This squilgee was long-handled, and had a wooden blade instead of the rubber blade commonly seen today.

Today, the squegee or squilgee is used for a variety of purposes, with window cleaning perhaps the most common and well-known use.  It is used together with a soapy solution to remove the dirt from a glass surface. 

Other squegees come with sponges to soak up and apply soapy water to a dirty window.  Similar long-handled versions are also used to clean floors, shower doors, bathroom tile, and many more.
   
Other uses of the squegee include photography and printing.  In photography, the squegee is used to dry and remove excess water from the photographic paper after washing, which helps in preventing the appearance of water spots and wrinkles.
   
It is also used in screen-printing, where its purpose is to spread the ink evenly across the silkscreen or stencil to make a precise and exact image on the surface.  Usually, squegees used for this purpose have less flexible and thicker blades compared to the window cleaning versions.