aiguille
Americannoun
noun
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a rock mass or mountain peak shaped like a needle
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an instrument for boring holes in rocks or masonry
Etymology
Origin of aiguille
1810–20; < French: literally, needle < Vulgar Latin *acūcula, alteration of Late Latin acucula, equivalent to acu ( s ) needle + -cula -cule 1; cf. acicula
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Next, to the left, comes the largest of the buttresses of which I have spoken, almost forming an aiguille in itself.
From The Ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper
Constantly I have been alone on the Glacier des Bois—and far among the loneliest aiguille recesses.
From The Life of John Ruskin by W. G. (William Gershom) Collingwood
She was reading the account of the first ascent of an aiguille in the Chamonix district, held by guides to be impossible and conquered at last by a party of amateurs.
From Running Water by A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason
I do not know if their rude resemblance to two figures, on opposite sides of a table or altar, has had anything to do with the name of the aiguille.
From Modern Painters, Volume IV (of V) by John Ruskin
Their real aspect will be understood in a moment by a glance at the opposite plate, 31, which represents the central aiguille in the woodcut outline Fig.
From Modern Painters, Volume IV (of V) by John Ruskin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
