The older generation still remembers those distant times, when no one had heard of any Velcro there, and the shoes were not fastened, but tied with laces. If, for example, you were a fan of playing hockey in the winter and football in the summer, then sooner or later the usual nuisance happened - the lugs broke off the laces. And from that moment on, shoeing was a real test of patience. Sleight of hand was required to sharpen the cord and push it into the hole. And about what an eglet, few knew then. Yes, and now too.
History of occurrence
The word "eglet" appeared in the Russian language not too long ago by historical standards - 200 years ago. It has two homelands: England, where the concept of aglet exists, and France, where they also knew what an eglet (or aiglet) is.
Before Peter I in Russia, traditional women's clothing was a sundress, and the shoes were devoid of any laces. The Russian ladies sat at home and did not think of any assemblies.
And about showing off their "charms" - and even more so. And how to lace up a young lady, they did not know about this in Russia. But when the emperor introduced foreign fashion, the need arose for such an accessory as lacing on dresses. At first, this did not affect the shoes. But after Peter I came up with a prototype of the modern design of the skates, laces were needed there.
Now imagine what difficulties it was worth a young lady to dress or undress. Of course, someone very smart invented a device that facilitates this tedious and painstaking process. It was not invented in Russia, but came from where all these small details of the ladies' toilet were in everyday life. Most likely, it was France.
Noun
The word "eglet" is a noun, is inanimate, belongs to the masculine gender, 2 declination.
Aig-leth is divided into two syllables with an emphasis on the second.
In morphological analysis, the word is in the singular of the nominative case the root "eglet" with a zero ending. Pronounced in the same way as spelled.
The definition of "eglet"
It can be found in the dictionaries. What is an eglet? The answer refers mainly to shoes. The dictionary claims that this is a device for a lace (shoe, etc.) made of solid material that wraps around the end of the ribbon in such a way as to allow multiple use of this device. That is, we are talking about rigid fixation.
There is a Russian analogue of an eglet. This word is "piston" or "knob." The dictionary explains that using this metal or plastic tip lacing shoes or other shoes is simplified due to the prevention of creeping of the laces.
Yesterday and today
For our ancestors, this small device was a fairly substantial part of the wardrobe. Only this can explain the found caps made of precious metals. Showing miracles of ingenuity, craftsmen decorated the end of the cord with silver figures. However, after some time the buttons were invented, and all the attention of the designers of that time was already focused on them.
However, they also remembered what an eglet was, since no one had canceled the laces on clothes or shoes. Discover William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. There you will find the expression aglet baby, which means "small tip" or literally "tip-baby".
From what just do not make them today. The scope for imagination goes wild: plastic of different colors and textures, scotch tape, wax and wood resin, glue, yarn in a special way fixed. The easiest option is to melt the edge of the cord, if it is made of synthetic material.
In especially glamorous cases, you can see piston caps made of stones (semiprecious) or colored glass. The most traditional and reliable, despite the abundance of possibilities, is a metal clip.
However, plastic makes him a strong competition, which can be seen in different photos. What is an eglet we remembered and now we can easily navigate if someone tells us: "Your eglet is lost."