eyelet

[ahy-lit]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR eyelet ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small hole, usually round and finished along the edge, as in cloth or leather for the passage of a lace or cord or as in embroidery for ornamental effect.

a lightweight fabric pierced by small holes finished with stitching and often laid out in flowerlike designs.

a metal ring for lining a small hole; grommet.

an eyehole in a wall, mask, etc.

Also oillet, oyelet, oylet. (in medieval architecture) a small aperture in a wall used as a window or loophole.

a small eye.

verb (used with object), eye·let·ed or eye·let·ted, eye·let·ing or eye·let·ting.

to make an eyelet in.

to insert metal eyelets in.

Origin of eyelet

1350–1400; Middle English oillet < Old French oillet, equivalent to oill eye (< Latin oculus; see ocular) + -et -et; influenced by eye

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for eyelet

coil, curve, dent, tunnel, void, crater, pocket, window, gap, pit, break, cut, space, mouth, crack, circumference, wreath, knot, hoop, twirl

Examples from the Web for eyelet

Historical Examples of eyelet

It should be fastened at the back, with hooks and eyelet holes.
The Ladies' Work-Table Book
Anonymous
His appetite fell off and his belt hooked in the fourth eyelet.
The Gay Gnani of Gingalee
Florence Huntley
Sometimes you might like to make an eyelet to represent a grape.
The Library of Work and Play: Needlecraft
Effie Archer Archer
Fig. 110 shows the rope passed around and whipped to an eyelet.
Rustic Carpentry
Paul N. Hasluck
The eyelet holes were next worked, and the method is shown in the diagram.
Needlework Economies
Various

British Dictionary definitions for eyelet

eyelet

noun

a small hole for a lace or cord to be passed through or for a hook to be inserted into

a small metal ring or tube with flared ends bent back, reinforcing an eyehole in fabric

a chink or small opening, such as a peephole in a wall

embroidery

a small hole with finely stitched edges, forming part of an ornamental pattern
Also called: eyelet embroiderya piece of embroidery decorated with such work

fabric decorated with such work produced by machine

a small eye or eyelike marking

verb

(tr) to supply with an eyelet or eyelets

Word Origin for eyelet

C14: from Old French oillet, literally: a little eye, from oill eye, from Latin oculus eye; see eye 1

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

Word Origin and History for eyelet

"small hole," late 14c., oilet, from Middle French oeillet, diminutive of oeil "eye," from Latin oculus (see eye (n.)). Spelling influenced by eye.