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gewgaw

noun
/ˈɡjuːɡɔː/UK/ˈɡ(j)uɡɔ/US

Etymology

From earlier gugaw, gygaw, from Middle English givegove (“gewgaw, trifle”), a reduplication of Middle English give, geove (“gift”), from Old English giefu, geofu, geafu (“gift”), from Proto-Germanic *gebō (“gift”). Compare Icelandic gyligjöf (“showy gifts, gewgaw”). More at give.

  1. derived from *gebō✻
  2. derived from giefu
  3. derived from give
  4. inherited from givegove

Definitions

  1. A showy trifle, a toy

    A showy trifle, a toy; a showy trinket, ornament or decoration.

    • A heavy gewgaw called a crown.
    • It was a Saxon ornament. […] Some Puritan, before his departure, may have thought himself doing God service by filching the old golden gewgaw.

  2. Showy

    Showy; unreal; pretentious.

    • The rattle of a globe to play withal, This gewgaw world, and put him cheaply off;
    • Seeing his gewgaw castle shine, New as his title, built last year.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for gewgaw. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA