spangle
spang·le/ˈspæŋɡəl/noun, verb
spangle is a noun meaning “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” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled S-P-A-N-G-L-E and has 2 syllables (spang·le), and it appears about once in every 19 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of spangle is spangles.
What does spangle mean?
noun
- 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.
- 2
Any small sparkling object.
- 3
A shiny particle of a mineral.
- 4
A star.
- 5
A point of light; also (rare), a glitter, a sparkle.
- 6
A speckle or spot, especially on the body of an animal.
- 7
Any of a number of swallowtail butterflies (genus Papilio); specifically Papilio protenor.
verb
- 1
To fix spangles or sparkling objects to (something); to bespangle.
- 2
To adorn or decorate (something).
- 3
To flash, glitter, or sparkle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce spangle?
- /ˈspæŋɡəl/
- [ˈspæŋɡl̩]
- /ˈspeɪ̯ŋɡəl/
Spangle has 2 syllables, split spang·le in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-spangle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of spangle
- spangles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- spangling participle, present
- spangled participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is spangle?
Spangle appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 131,834th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Spangle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense small, flat piece of sparkling metallic or metal-like material with a hole which:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | paillette |
| German | Flitter, Flitterblättchen, Glanzplättchen, Glitzer, Paillette |
| Portuguese | lantejoula |
| Spanish | lentejuela |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does spangle come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).