gewgaw

[ gyoo-gaw, goo- ]

See synonyms for gewgaw on Thesaurus.com

noun

something gaudy and useless; trinket; bauble.

Origin of gewgaw

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English giuegaue; gradational compound of uncertain origin; perhaps akin to Middle French, French gogo (see (à) gogo)

Also gee·gaw [jee-gaw, gee-] /ˈdʒi gɔ, ˈgi-/ .

Other words from gewgaw

gewgawed, adjective

Words Nearby gewgaw

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gewgaw in a sentence

Here again the gewgaw of royal parade was intended to entrap the admiration of the ignorant.
Secret History of the Court of England, from the Accession of George the Third to the Death of George the Fourth, Volume I (of 2) | Lady Anne Hamilton
Compare it for a moment with the gewgaw skimble-skamble diplomatic sensationalism with which we have been presented since.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, November 1879 | Various
Some of them have been won by a mess of pottage, a mere bauble or a gewgaw.
Prisons and Prayer: Or a Labor of Love | Elizabeth Ryder Wheaton
Patient investigation reveals a lacquered toilet-box with a mirror under the lid, a cheap and nasty gewgaw.
'Neath Verdun, August-October, 1914 | Maurice Genevoix
She wondered what Madame Beattie thought she could get out of giving up the adored gewgaw into other hands.
The Prisoner | Alice Brown

British Dictionary definitions for gewgaw

gewgaw

/ (ˈɡjuːɡɔː, ˈɡuː-) /

noun

a showy but valueless trinket

adjective

showy and valueless; gaudy

Origin of gewgaw

C15: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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