grommet

See also: Grommet

English

WOTD – 22 February 2010

Rubber grommets.

Alternative forms

• grummet, gromet

Etymology

From obsolete French gromette (“curb chain”) (modern spelling gourmette).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹɒm.ɪt/, /ˈɡɹʌm.ɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹɑ.mɪt/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒmɪt

Noun

grommet (plural grommets)

1. A reinforced eyelet, or a small metal or plastic ring used to reinforce an eyelet.
2. (nautical) A ring formed of a single strand of rope, laid in three times round, fastening the upper edge of a sail to its stay.
3. (flags) An eyelet at the hoist end of a flag, used to fasten the flag to its halyard.
4. (slang, surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding) A young or inexperienced surfer, skateboarder, or snowboarder.

   Synonyms: grem, gremlin, gremmie, gremmy

5. A boy serving on a ship.

Synonyms

• (nautical): cringle
• (surfer, snowboarder): grom

Derived terms

• drop grommet
• edge grommet, grommet edging
• surgical grommet
• cable grommet
• grommet press, grommet punch

Translations

reinforced eyelet, or a small metal or plastic ring

• Afrikaans: kabelwartel
• Bulgarian: илик m (ilik)
• Dutch: kabelwartel
• Finnish: purjerengas, vahvikerengas
• French: œillet renforçé, manchon (fr) m, passe-câble m (electricity), presse-étoupe (fr)
• Galician: arandela f, gulleteiro m, ollal (gl) m, estrobo (gl) m
• German: Grommet, Durchführungstülle f, Augenring (de) m, Öse (de) f, Tülle (de) f, Ringkausch f, Kausch (de) f, Durchführung (de) f, Durchführdichtung f, Kantenschutz m, Dichtungshülse f, Manschette (de) f, Kabeldurchführung f, Schutzmanschette f, Schutztülle f, Durchgangstülle f, Seilschlinge f
• Italian: boccola (it) f, occhiello (it) m, passacavo (it) m
• Maori: takaore
• Russian: люверс (ru) m (ljuvers)
• Spanish: ojal (es), ollao reforzado, estrobo (es) m
• Turkish: kuş gözü (tr)
• Ukrainian: люверс m (ljuvers)

young or inexperienced surfer, skateboarder or snowboarder

boy serving on a ship

• Catalan: grumet (ca) m
• Portuguese: grumete (pt) m
• Spanish: grumete (es) m

Verb

grommet (third-person singular simple present grommets, present participle grommeting, simple past and past participle grommeted)

1. (transitive) To insert a grommet into.
   • 1923, “American Machinist”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1], volume 58, numbers 23-26, page 919:

     The device takes the form of a guard for the punch presses which are used in grommeting mail bags in the process of manufacture.

   • 2007, Wil McCarthy, The Wellstone‎^[2], page 225:

     There was little point in grommeting the hole, since the wrapping was already as rigid and tough as its invisibility permitted.

2. (transitive) To fasten using a grommet.
3. (intransitive) To apply grommets.

References

• Grommet in the 1905 edition of the New International Encyclopedia.