labret

noun

Etymology: From Latin labrum (“lip”) + -et; modelled on anklet, bracelet, etc. Sometimes incorrectly assumed to be of French origin.

1. A body piercing consisting of an adornment attached to the lip.

   “Purchas, speaking of the use of a labret by certain Mexicans, makes Peter Martyr say “that he doth not remember that he ever saw so filthy and ugly a sight,[…]”

   “The labret was an ornament worn in a perforation through the lower lip, In the north, labrets were oval in shape, generally made of wood or stone, times inlaid with small flat pieces of shell or bone. The wearing of a labret signified high rank.”