cringle n : fastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines [syn: eyelet, loop, grommet, grummet]

English

Noun

1. A short piece of rope, arranged as a grommet around a metal ring, used to attach tackle to a sail etc.

A cringle is an eye through which to pass a rope. In nautical settings, the word refers to a small hole anywhere along the edge or in the corner of a sail, rimmed with stranded cordage and worked into the boltrope. Typically it encloses a metal grommet for reinforcement and to reduce wear. In this context, cringle and grommet coincide enough that the two are sometimes used interchangeably.

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, venthole