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A.Word.A.Day--aglet

aglet (AG-lit) noun

1. A tag or metal sheath on the end of a lace, cord, or ribbon to facilitate its passing through eyelet holes.

2. A similar device used for an ornament.

[Middle English, from Old French aguillette, diminutive of aguille, needle, from Vulgar Latin *acucula, from Late Latin acucula, diminutive of Latin acus, needle.]

"So there came in three ambassadors with ... brooches and aglets of gold upon their caps ...." More, Sir Thomas, Utopia: Part II.

"He is also deeply interested in telomeres, the protective DNA aglets on the end of chromosomes ...." The luck of Donald Coffey: magician, visionary, gadfly, Medical Post, 23 Jun 1998.

The Internet is overloaded. I'm told its wires are clogged with pirated song clips, fuzzy video, and dirty pictures. I think the real reason behind the congestion is that confounded "angry, hungry, -gry" puzzle that has been known to make the rounds of the Internet googols of times. It shows up in my mailbox with unfailing regularity even though I added it to AWAD's Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) list over three years ago.

Unlike that gry chestnut, I do like to see word-related queries. This week's AWAD attempts to answer some of those and focuses on questions of the type, "Do you know the word for that metal thingy at the ends of a shoestring?" So for the next few days let's look at words for things we see around us every day but don't know what they are called. And while we're at it, let's also touch upon words for some body parts that your kindergarten teacher didn't identify. -Anu

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