eyelet

[ ahy-lit ]
See synonyms for eyelet on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. 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.

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

  1. a metal ring for lining a small hole; grommet.

  2. an eyehole in a wall, mask, etc.

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

  4. a small eye.

verb (used with object),eye·let·ed or eye·let·ted, eye·let·ing or eye·let·ting.
  1. to make an eyelet in.

  2. to insert metal eyelets in.

Origin of eyelet

1
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. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for eyelet

eyelet

/ (ˈaɪlɪt) /


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

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

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

  2. embroidery

    • a small hole with finely stitched edges, forming part of an ornamental pattern

    • Also called: eyelet embroidery a piece of embroidery decorated with such work

  3. fabric decorated with such work produced by machine

  4. a small eye or eyelike marking

verb
  1. (tr) to supply with an eyelet or eyelets

Origin of eyelet

1
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