aiguille

Borrowed from French aiguille (“needle”).

• (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]

aiguille (plural aiguilles)

1. A needle-shaped peak. [from 19th c.]
   • 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Macdonald and Son] 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.

• aglet

• aguille (obsolete)

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

• IPA^(key): /ɛ.ɡɥij/ ~ /e.ɡɥij/

• Audio:

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• Audio (Paris):

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• Homophones: aiguillent, aiguilles, Éguilles

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

• aiguiller
• aiguillette

• épingle f

aiguille

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

• “aiguille” in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse.
• “aiguille” in Émile Littré, Dictionnaire de la langue française, 1872–1877.
• “aiguille” in Dictionnaire Le Robert.
• “aiguille”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.