spangle

See also: Spangle

English

(1) Gold sequins on a shoe

Etymology

From Middle English spangel (“a small piece of ornamental metal; a small ornament”); equivalent to spang +‎ -le.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspæŋ.ɡəl/
• Rhymes: -æŋɡəl

Noun

spangle (plural spangles)

1. A small piece of sparkling metallic material sewn on to a garment as decoration; a sequin.
   • 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:

     And no use for anyone to tell Charles that this was because the Family was in mourning for Mr Granville Darracott […]: Charles might only have been second footman at Darracott Place for a couple of months when that disaster occurred, but no one could gammon him into thinking that my lord cared a spangle for his heir.

2. Any small sparkling object.
   • 1645, Edmund Waller, “Of and to the Queene”, lines 35--38:

     Thus, in a starry night, fond children cry
     For the rich spangles that adorn the sky,
     Which, though they shine for ever fixed there,
     With light and influence relieve us here.

3. The butterfly, Papilio demoleus, family Papilionidae, of Asia.

Translations

a small sparkling particle sewn on cloth as a decoration

• Catalan: lluentó m, lluentons m pl
• German: Flitter (de) m, Glanzplättchen n, Paillette f
• Italian: lustrino (it) m, paillette m
• Japanese: スパンコール (supankōru), スパングル (supanguru)

• Maori: kora
• Spanish: lentejuela (es) f
• Tagalog: lentehuwelas

Verb

spangle (third-person singular simple present spangles, present participle spangling, simple past and past participle spangled)

1. (intransitive) To sparkle, flash or coruscate.
2. (transitive) To fix spangles to; to adorn with small, brilliant bodies.
   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)

     What stars do spangle heaven with such beauty?

Derived terms

• bespangle
• spangled
• unspangled

Anagrams

• Pangles, legspan