a small hole, usually round and finished along the edge, as in cloth or leather for the passage of a lace or cord or as in embroidery for ornamental effect.
a lightweight fabric pierced by small holes finished with stitching and often laid out in flowerlike designs.
a metal ring for lining a small hole; grommet.
an eyehole in a wall, mask, etc.
Also oillet, oyelet, oylet.(in medieval architecture) a small aperture in a wall used as a window or loophole.
a small eye.
verb (used with object),eye·let·ed or eye·let·ted,eye·let·ing or eye·let·ting.
to make an eyelet in.
to insert metal eyelets in.
Origin of eyelet
1350–1400; Middle English oillet<Old French oillet, equivalent to oill eye (<Latin oculus;see ocular) + -et-et; influenced by eye