Meanings
plural eyelets
- A shaped metal embellishment containing a hole, used in scrapbook. Eyelets are typically set by punching a hole in the page, placing the smooth side of the eyelet on a table, positioning the paper over protruding edge and curling the edge down using a hammer and eyelet setter.
- Cotton fabric with small holes.
- The contact tip of the base of a light bulb.
- A peephole.
present singular third person eyelets · participle present eyeletting · participle present eyeleting · participle past eyeletted · past eyeletted · participle past eyeleted · past eyeleted
- transitiveTo make eyelets in.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna small hole (usually round and finished around the edges) in cloth or leather for the passage of a cord or hook or bar
nounfastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Frenchoil“eye”
- Old Frenchoillet
- Middle Englishoylet
- Englisheyelet
From Middle English oylet, from Old French oillet, equivalent to Old French oil (“eye”) + -et (diminutive suffix). Spelling and pronunciation were later on influenced by eye (which is distantly related to oil via Proto-Indo-European) as though suffixed with -let (a double diminutive also from -et).
More words from Middle English, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ὀμμάτιον
- ὀμμάτιον (ommátion)small eye
Bulgarian фасунка
- фасунка (fasunka)contact tip of a light bulb
Finnish rengasniitti, sirkkarengas
- rengasniittismall hole to receive a cord or fastener
- sirkkarengassmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
- sirkkasmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
- vahvikerengassmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
- kontaktinastacontact tip of a light bulb
French œillet, œillet
- œilletsmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
- œilletsmall eye
German Öse, Schnüröse
- Ösesmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
- Schnürösesmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
- Äugleinsmall eye
Greek ματάκι
- ματάκι (matáki)small eye
Irish súilín
- súilínsmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
Italian occhiello
- occhiellosmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
Latin foramen
- foramensmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
Norwegian Bokmål malje
- maljesmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
Portuguese ilhó, casa
- ilhósmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
- casasmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
Spanish ojete, ojal
- ojetesmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
- ojalsmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
- ojetillosmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
Swedish öljet
- öljetsmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
Tagalog ohetes
- ohetessmall hole to receive a cord or fastener
Ukrainian лю́верс
- лю́верс (ljúvers)small hole to receive a cord or fastener
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with eyelet
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
eyelet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eyelet
“eyelet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eyelet. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eyelet,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eyelet.
Source: eyelet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.