What Are The Plastic Things Found On The End Of Our Shoelaces Called?
Believe it or not, the small plastic things found on the ends of our shoelaces have a name, ‘aglet’. An Aglet, also known as an ‘aiglet’ is specifically meant to keep the twine at the ends of the shoelaces, which can often get frayed and unwound, from unwinding or unravelling. The origin of the word is Old French, where ‘aguilette’ or ‘aiguilette’ refers to ‘needle’. This in turn has originated from ‘acus’, which is the Latin original for ‘needle’. In older times, aglets were made out of glass or metal, and at times, of stone. At one point of time, aglets were considered a beautiful and decorative ornament, and crafted painstakingly out of metals like gold and silver. As a matter of fact, interestingly enough, aglets were used on the shirt fronts of gentlemen before buttons were ever invented! Aglets were also frequently used to fasten the ends of two ribbons together. Today, aguilettes are found on modern day military uniforms, and are purely decorative.
