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cringle

American  
[kring-guhl] / ˈkrɪŋ gəl /

noun

Nautical.
  1. an eye or grommet formed on the boltrope of a sail to permit the attachment of lines.


cringle British  
/ ˈkrɪŋɡəl /

noun

  1. an eye at the edge of a sail, usually formed from a thimble or grommet

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cringle

First recorded in 1620–30; from Low German kringel, equivalent to kring “circle” + -el diminutive suffix; cognate with Middle English Cringle (in placenames), Old Norse kringla “circle”

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.

If a large cringle is needed, count an extra number of lays—5, 7, etc., always an odd number.

From Project Gutenberg

So did we, and, further, ran a line from the cringle in her foresail to the weather rigging.

From Project Gutenberg

When it became necessary to make sail, the men loosed the sails, but shortly found that no sheets were rove, and the bow-lines bent to the bunt line cringles.

From Project Gutenberg

A tackle with two hooks, one to hitch into a cringle of the main or fore sail in the bolt-rope, and the other to hitch into a strap spliced to the chess-tree.

From Project Gutenberg

He poised himself for a few moments on the crotch of the boom, clinging to the cringles of the luff—the short ropes with which the sail is reefed.

From Project Gutenberg