Word Study
cringle
CIDE DICTIONARY
cringle, n. [Icel. kringla orb; akin to kring around, and to D. kring circle, and to E. cringe, crank.].
- A withe for fastening a gate. [1913 Webster]
- An iron or pope thimble or grommet worked into or attached to the edges and corners of a sail; -- usually in the plural. The cringles are used for making fast the bowline bridles, earings, etc. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
cringle, n. Naut. an eye of rope containing a thimble for another rope to pass through.
Etymology
LG kringel dimin. of kring ring f. root of CRANK(1)
THESAURUS
cringle
air hole, armhole, blowhole, boltrope, bullet-hole, bunghole, canvas, clew, cloth, crowd of sail, deadeye, earing, eye, eyelet, foot, fore-and-aft sail, gasket, grommet, guide, head, keyhole, knothole, leech, loop, loophole, luff, manhole, mousehole, muslin, peephole, pigeonhole, pinhole, placket, placket hole, plain sail, porthole, press of sail, punch-hole, rag, reduced sail, reef point, reefed sail, sail, spiracle, square sail, tap, vent, ventholeFor further exploring for "cringle" in Webster Dictionary Online