aiguille
See also: aiguillé
English
Etymology
Borrowed from French aiguille (“needle”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈeɪ.ɡwiːl/,[1][2] /eɪˈɡwiːl/,[2] /ˈeɪ.ɡwiː/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈeɪ.ɡwil/,[2][3] /eɪˈɡwil/,[1][2][3][4] /eɪˈɡwi/[4]
Noun
aiguille (plural aiguilles)
- A needle-shaped peak. [from 19th c.]
- 1818, [Mary Shelley], Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, OCLC 830979744:
- Mont Blanc, the supreme and magnificent Mont Blanc, raised itself from the surrounding aiguilles, and its tremendous dome overlooked the valley.
-
- An instrument for boring holes, used in blasting.
Related terms
- aglet
References
- “aiguille”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- “aiguille”, in Collins English Dictionary.
- “aiguille”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “aiguille”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
French
Alternative forms
- aguille (obsolete)
- aigüille, aiguïlle (nonstandard)
Etymology
From Old French aguille, from Late Latin acūcula, diminutive of Latin acus (“needle”). Perhaps influenced phonetically by aiguiser. Compare Occitan agulha.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛ.ɡɥij/, /e.ɡɥij/
audio (file) Audio (Paris) (file)
Noun
aiguille f (plural aiguilles)
- (botany, costumery, medicine) needle
- needle (of compass); hand (of watch); spire (of church)
- (railway) point (UK), switch (US)
Derived terms
- aiguille à tricoter
- aiguiller
- aiguillette, aiglet
- chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin
- de fil en aiguille ("one thing leading to another")
- sens des aiguilles d'une montre
- talon aiguille
Related terms
- aigu
- aiguillon
- aiguiser
See also
- épingle f
Verb
aiguille
- inflection of aiguiller:
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “aiguille”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.