aiguille

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word aiguille. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word aiguille, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say aiguille in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word aiguille you have here. The definition of the word aiguille will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofaiguille, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: aiguillé

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French aiguille (“needle”).

Pronunciation

Noun

aiguille (plural aiguilles)

  1. A needle-shaped peak.
    • 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. , volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC:
      Mont Blanc, the supreme and magnificent Mont Blanc, raised itself from the surrounding aiguilles, and its tremendous dome overlooked the valley.
  2. An instrument for boring holes, used in blasting.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “aiguille”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 “aiguille”, in Collins English Dictionary.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 “aiguille”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 “aiguille”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from Old French aguille, from Late Latin acūcula, diminutive of Latin acus (“needle”). Perhaps influenced phonetically by aiguiser. Compare Occitan agulha.

Pronunciation

Noun

aiguille f (plural aiguilles)

  1. (botany, costumery, medicine) needle
    aiguille à tricoter ― knitting needle
    de fil en aiguille ― one thing leading to another
    chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin ― to look for a needle in a haystack
    talon aiguille ― stiletto heel
  2. needle (of a compass)
  3. hand (of a watch)
    aiguille des secondes ― second hand
    aiguille des minutes ― minute hand
    aiguille des heures ― hour hand
    dans le sens des aiguilles d’une montre ― clockwise
  4. spire (of a church)
  5. (railway) point, switch
    Coordinate term: aiguillage

Derived terms

See also

Verb

aiguille

  1. inflection of aiguiller:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia