spangles

Noun

spangle (plural spangles)

1. 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...

   Synonyms:

   paillette

2. 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
   1. 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: […]...
   2. (figuratively) 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...
3. (broadly) 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
4. (broadly) 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....

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