different between aglet vs aiguille

English

Alternative forms

• aiglet

Etymology

From Middle English aglet, aglett, agglot, from Old French aguillete.

Noun

aglet (plural aglets)

1. Alternative spelling of aiglet.
2. The cover at the tip of a shoelace, to prevent it from fraying.
3. A catkin.

Translations

Anagrams

• Tagle, galet

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French aiguille (“needle”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?e?.?wi?/, /?e?.?w?l/

Noun

aiguille (plural aiguilles)

1. A needle-shaped peak. [from 19th c.]
   • 1818, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein:

     Mont Blanc, the supreme and magnificent Mont Blanc, raised itself from the surrounding aiguilles, and its tremendous dome overlooked the valley.

2. An instrument for boring holes, used in blasting.

Related terms

• aglet

French

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) aguille
• (nonstandard) aigüille, aiguïlle

Etymology

From Old French aguille, from Vulgar Latin *ac?cla < *ac?cula, diminutive of Latin acus (“needle”). Perhaps influenced phonetically by aiguiser.

• Cognate with Italian agucchia, Portuguese agulha, Spanish aguja

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e.??ij/, /?.??ij/

Noun

aiguille f (plural aiguilles)

1. (botany, costumery, medicine) needle
2. needle (of compass); hand (of watch); spire (of church)
3. (railway) point (UK), switch (US)

Derived terms

• aiguille à tricoter
• aiguiller
• aiguillette, aiglet
• chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin
• de fil en aiguille ("one thing leading to another")
• sens des aiguilles d'une montre
• talon aiguille

Related terms

• aigu
• aiguillon
• aiguiser

See also

• épingle f

Verb

aiguille

1. first-person singular present indicative of aiguiller
2. third-person singular present indicative of aiguiller
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of aiguiller
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of aiguiller
5. second-person singular imperative of aiguiller

Further reading

• “aiguille” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).