aiglet
- noun
- /ˈeɪɡlɪt/
- UK
- The aiglet on his shoelace broke off, making it hard to thread the lace.
Examples
-
The shoelace had a shiny aiglet at the end.
-
Modern shoelaces usually have plastic aiglets instead of metal ones.
-
She replaced the ribbon's frayed aiglet with a new one for a neater appearance.
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She bought new aiglets for her favorite sneakers.
-
Modern shoelaces usually have plastic aiglets instead of metal ones.
-
She replaced the ribbon's frayed aiglet with a new one for a neater appearance.
-
The aiglet on his shoelace broke off, making it hard to thread the lace.
Synonyms
A small plastic or metal tip on the end of a shoelace
Surface Forms
Morphology
aiglet = aig + let
The suffix '-let' indicates a small/diminutive form, but the base 'aig' is not an English standalone word (borrowed), so the exact referent must be learned and is only partly deducible.
Etymology
Aiglet comes from the French aiguille meaning 'needle', and the small ending -let makes it a 'little needle'. So an aiglet is like a tiny needle at the end of a shoelace that stops the lace from fraying and helps you thread it.