spangle
Syllables: spang·le/ˈspæŋɡəl/
spangle noun: a small, flat piece of sparkling metallic or metal-like material with a hole which is sewn on to a garment, etc., for decoration; a sequin.
Noun
spangle (plural spangles)
- A small, flat piece of sparkling metallic or metal-like material with a hole which is sewn on to a garment, etc., for decoration; a sequin.
- The other Knight was all in milke white, his attiring els, all cutte in starres, which made of cloath of silver, and silver spangles, each way seemed to cast many aspects.c. 1580 (date written), Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New...
- […] I had coſt his Majeſty above a million and a half of Sprugs, (their greateſt Gold Coin, about the bigneſs of a Spangle;) and upon the whole, that it would be adviſeable in the Emperor to take the firſt fair Occaſion of diſmiſſing me.1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “Of the Inhabitants of Lilliput; […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […]...
- Synonyms:
- paillette
- Any small sparkling object.
- There they doe finde that godly aged Sire, / VVith ſnowy lockes adowne his ſhoulders ſhed, / As hoary froſt with ſpangles doth attire / The moſſy braunches of an Oke halfe ded.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 48, page 148
- And all the ſhrubs, vvith ſparkling ſpangles, ſhevv / Like Morning-Sun-ſhine tinsilling the devv.1648, Robert Herrick, “The Apparition of His Mistresse Calling Him to Elizium”, in Hesperides: Or, The Works both Humane & Divine […], London: […] John Williams, and Francis Eglesfield, and are to be...
- A shiny particle of a mineral.
- There wanted good Refiners; for thoſe that tooke vpon them to haue skill this way, tooke vp the waſhings from the mountaines, and ſome moskered ſhining ſtones and ſpangles which the waters brought downe, flattering themſelues in their owne vaine conceits to haue been ſuppoſed what they were not, by...1624, Iohn [i.e., John] Smith, “Of Such Things which are Naturally in Virginia, and How They Vse Them”, in The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles: […], London: […]...
- The surface texture [of galvanized metal] can also be controlled and, in particular, the classical spangle finish can be eliminated. The spangle finish of galvanized strip is quite unsuitable for certain applications, most particularly for organic liquid paint coating; it is practically impossible...1991, Frank Porter, “Sheet Galvanizing”, in Zinc Handbook: Properties, Processing, and Use in Design (Mechanical Engineering; 73), Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, →ISBN, page 259
- A star.
- 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.1645, Edmond Waller [i.e., Edmund Waller], “Of the Queen”, in Poems, &c. Written upon Several Occasions, and to Several Persons: […], 6th edition, London: […] H[enry] Herringman, and sold by Jacob...
- See round the Poles where keener ſpangles ſhine, / Where ſpices ſmoke beneath the burning Line, / (Earths wide extreams) her ſable flag diſplay'd; / And all the nations cover'd in her ſhade!1728, [Alexander Pope], “Book the Third”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC, page 39, lines 61–64
- A point of light; also (rare), a glitter, a sparkle.
- Mariner, mariner, furl your sails, / For here are the blissful downs and dales, / And merrily, merrily carol the gales, / And the spangle dances in bight and bay, / And the rainbow forms and flies on the land / Over the islands free; […]a. 1893 (date written), Alfred Tennyson, “Sea Fairies”, in The Complete Poetical Works of Alfred Tennyson, Chicago, Ill.: The Dominion Company, published 1897, →OCLC, page 31
- A speckle or spot, especially on the body of an animal.
- In the male [mille fleur booted bantam] the general plumage color is red with the tip of each feather ending in a V-shaped, white spangle which is separated from the red portion of the feather by a black bar. […] The wing bows are also red, tipped with white spangles.1942 January, M[orley] A. Jull, “Ornamental Bantam Class”, in Standard Breeds and Varieties of Chickens. II. Ornamental and Game Classes (Farmers’ Bulletin; no. 1507), Washington, D.C.: U.S....
- The Golden-Spangled Hamburg has an attractive pattern, the plumage over the body being golden bay, each feather ending with an elongated, greenish-black spangle. […] The spangles of the wing coverts should form two distinct, parallel bars across the wings.1954 March, “Ornamental Bantam Class”, in Ornamental and Game Breeds of Chickens (Farmers’ Bulletin; no. 2066), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture; U.S. Government Printing Office...
- Any of a number of swallowtail butterflies (genus Papilio); specifically Papilio protenor.
- The female is unusually beautiful with grayish-brown wings hemmed by velvet black, while the male, resembling the black-winged Long-tail Spangle (Onaga-ageha) [Papilio macilentus], has unique vermillion marks on the body, and gives out a unique fragrance from which comes its Japanese name.1974 March 30, Toshikazu Horiuchi, “Where Have All the Butterflies Gone? An Essay”, in 愛知工業大学研究報告. A, 基礎教育系論文集 [Bulletin of Aichi Institute of Technology. Part A, Basic Education Dissertation...
- [page 25] Papilio protenor euprotenor Fruhstorfer, 1908 / The Spangle was mentioned from Bangladesh by Collins & Morris (1985); it is quite likely in the Srimangal forests since it occurs in the Khasi Hills at low levels. […] [page 26] Papilio elephenor Doubleday, 1845 / The Yellow-Crested Spangle...2004, Torben B[jørn] Larsen, “Systematic Checklist [Papilionidae]”, in Butterflies of Bangladesh: An Annotated Checklist, Dhaka, Bangladesh: Bangladesh Country Office, International Union for...
Verb
spangle (third-person singular simple present spangles, present participle spangling, simple past and past participle spangled)
- To fix spangles or sparkling objects to (something); to bespangle.
- What ſtars do ſpangle heauen with ſuch beautie, / As thoſe two eyes become that heauenly face?c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- Chapadór, m. one that plateth ouer, or ſpangleth.1599, Iohn Minsheu [i.e., John Minsheu], “Chapadór”, in A Dictionarie in Spanish and English, […], London: […] Edm[und] Bollifant, →OCLC, page 65, column 2
- To adorn or decorate (something).
- It seems it is in fashion with you to sugar your papers with Carnation phrases, and spangle your speeches with new quodled words.1647, Theodore de la Guard [pseudonym; Nathaniel Ward], The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America. […], London: […] J[ohn] D[ever] & R[obert] I[bbitson] for Stephen Bowtell, […], →OCLC; The Simple...
- On the morning of July 31, the mountain rose spangled in the summer sun 2,300 feet above Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli. Strapping on three oxygen tanks, the two men faced toward K2's last fastness.1954 October 11, “Assault on the Summit: The Conquerors' Account”, in Life, volume 37, number 15, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 33
- To flash, glitter, or sparkle.
- The gifts are differing, being diverse; their administrations are differing, and the operations of them also are differing, though all those things are from that one and the self-same Spirit, working in every one severally as he pleases. All these things will spangle in the New Jerusalem, and carry...1665, John Bunyan, “ The Holy City; or, The New Jerusalem: […]”, in Henry Stebbing, editor, The Entire Works of John Bunyan, […], volume I, London: James S[prent] Virtue, […], published 1863, →OCLC...
- Synonyms:
- coruscate, scintillate
Proper noun capitalized: Spangle
Spangle (plural Spangles)
- A surname.
spangle meaning in Urdu, Kannada and Tagalog
spangle in Urdu
- چمکی
spangle in Kannada
- ಹೊಳಪು ಬಟ್ಟು, ಥಳುಕು ಬಟ್ಟು, ಚಮಕಿ, ನಕ್ಕಿ
spangle in Tagalog
- small, flat piece of sparkling metallic or metal-like material with a hole which is sewn on to a garment, etc., for decoration
- lentehuwelas
Examples of spangle in a sentence
- "Miss Bart, if you can't sew those spangles on more regular I guess you'd better give the hat to Miss Kilroy." Lily looked down ruefully at her handiwork.1905, Edith Wharton, chapter X, in The House of Mirth, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, book II, page 462:
- "Again, just to clarify, my current spangles will not suffice?" / "I don't particularly care what you wear—though overalls might not be the thing.2017 June, Juliet Blackwell, chapter 12, in A Ghostly Light (A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery), New York, N.Y.: Berkley Prime Crime...
- The surface texture [of galvanized metal] can also be controlled and, in particular, the classical spangle finish can be eliminated.1991, Frank Porter, “Sheet Galvanizing”, in Zinc Handbook: Properties, Processing, and Use in Design (Mechanical Engineering; 73), Boca...
- Spangle butterfly (Papilio protenor) photographed in Tokyo, Japan.2008, Martin J. Hodson, Margot R. Hodson, “Caring as Communities”, in Cherishing the Earth: How to Care for God’s Creation, Oxford...
Synonyms of spangle
Forms of spangle
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | spangles |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | spangles |
| present participle | spangling |
| past participle | spangled |
| past | spangled |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | spanglest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | spangledst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | spangleth |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Spangles |
Origin of spangle
The noun is derived from Middle English spangel (“small piece of ornamental metal, spangle; small ornament”) [and other forms], from spang (“small piece of ornamental metal, spangle; small ornament; type of bowl or cup”) + -el (diminutive suffix). Spang is derived from Middle Dutch spange, spaenge (“buckle, clasp; brooch; spangle”) (modern Dutch spang (“clasp; hook; metal hairband; metal pin”)), from Middle Low German spangel (“small chain or clasp”), from Proto-Germanic *spangō (“brooch; clasp”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)penh₁- (“to twist; to weave”). The English word is analysable as spang + -le (diminutive suffix). The verb is derived from the noun.
Words formed from spangle
Words that rhyme with spangle
Questions about spangle
- What does spangle mean?
- Spangle means a small, flat piece of sparkling metallic or metal-like material with a hole which is sewn on to a garment, etc., for decoration; a sequin.
- What is spangle in Urdu?
- Spangle in Urdu is چمکی. See Spangle meaning in Urdu.
- How do you use spangle in a sentence?
- "Miss Bart, if you can't sew those spangles on more regular I guess you'd better give the hat to Miss Kilroy." Lily looked down ruefully at her handiwork.
- What part of speech is spangle?
- Spangle can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce spangle?
- Spangle is pronounced /ˈspæŋɡəl/.
- What is the plural of spangle?
- The plural of spangle is spangles.
Words near spangle in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: spangle (page history and authors); Spangle (page history and authors); spangle (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); spangle (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-spangle.wav.
Cite this entry: “spangle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/spangle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.