A small decorative pin or brooch, often used as a badge or ornament, particularly in military or formal contexts.
From French épinglette, a diminutive of épingle (pin), formed with the French diminutive suffix -ette. This term emerged in the 19th century for small ornamental pins.
The -ette ending in French means 'little,' so an epinglette is literally a 'little pin'—but in fashion and military uniforms, these tiny pins became huge status symbols! Small additions to clothing often meant big differences in rank.
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