folding eyeglasses kept in place on the nose by a spring-clip, by 1853, French, literally "pinch-nose," from pincer "to pinch" (see pinch (v.)) + nez "nose" (from Latin nasus, from PIE root *nas- "nose").
Entries linking to pince-nez
pinch v.
early 13c., pinchen, "to pluck (an eyebrow);" mid-14c. "compress between the finger and thumb or some device, squeeze between two hard, opposing bodies," from Old North French *pinchier "to pinch, squeeze, nip; steal" (Old French pincier, Modern French pincer), a word of uncertain origin, possibly from Vulgar Latin *punctiare "to pierce," which might be a blend of Latin punctum "point" + *piccare "to pierce."
From mid-14c. as "to pain, torment." Of tight shoes, from 1570s. Meaning "to steal" in English is from 1650s. Sense of "to be stingy" is recorded from early 14c. Related: Pinched; pinching.
*nas-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "nose."
It forms all or part of: nares; nark; nasal; nasopharynx; nasturtium; ness; nose; nostril; nozzle; nuzzle; pince-nez.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit nasa, Old Persian naham, Latin nasus, Old Church Slavonic nasu, Lithuanian nosis, Old English nosu, German Nase "nose."