gewgaw
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L321217 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɡjuːɡɔː/ / /ˈɡ(j)uɡɔ/ / /ˈɡ(j)uɡɑ/
adj
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.
- 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.”
noun
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.
- 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.”