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eyelet

noun

  1. small, reinforced hole in textile or leather material, for the insertion of a lace or stud, or as decoration
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈaɪ.lət/

noun

Etymology: From Middle English oylet, from Old French oillet, equivalent to Old French oil (“eye”) + -et (diminutive suffix). Spelling and pronunciation were later on influenced by eye (which is distantly related to oil via Proto-Indo-European) as though suffixed with -let (a double diminutive also from -et).

  1. An object that consists of a rim and small hole or perforation to receive a cord or fastener, as in garments, sails, etc. An eyelet may reinforce a hole.

    Push the aglet of the shoelace through each of the eyelets, one at a time.

  2. A shaped metal embellishment containing a hole, used in scrapbook. Eyelets are typically set by punching a hole in the page, placing the smooth side of the eyelet on a table, positioning the paper over protruding edge and curling the edge down using a hammer and eyelet setter.
  3. Cotton fabric with small holes.
  4. The contact tip of the base of a light bulb.
  5. A peephole.
  6. A little eye.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English oylet, from Old French oillet, equivalent to Old French oil (“eye”) + -et (diminutive suffix). Spelling and pronunciation were later on influenced by eye (which is distantly related to oil via Proto-Indo-European) as though suffixed with -let (a double diminutive also from -et).

  1. To make eyelets in.