Dictionary Defs: AIGLET

If, in perusing the As, you came across AGLET  - the metal sheath at the end of a shoe lace, you might have forgotten it by the time you get to AIGLET - which is another spelling of AGLET.

An aiguillette, aguillette or aiglet (from French aiguille "needle") is a decorative tag or tip for a cord or ribbon, usually of gold and sometimes set with gemstones or enameled. Small cords and ribbon bows tipped with pairs of aiguilettes were fashionable ornaments in the 16th and early 17th centuries.

In contemporary military and civil uniforms, an aiguillette is an ornamental braided cord with a similar metal tip, derived from armor fastenings. The plastic or metal aglet on a shoe lace is also a direct descendant.

 black shoelace with plastic tip or aglet

Below, bolo tie with aiglets