bauble

[ baw-buhl ]

/ ˈbɔ bəl /

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noun

a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket; gewgaw.

a jester's scepter.

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Origin of bauble

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English babel, babulle, from Old French babel, baubel, derivatives of an expressive base with varying vocalisms; compare Old French baubelet “little trinket”; see bibelot

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH bauble

babble, bauble , bubble

Words nearby bauble

Batwa, batwing, batwing sleeve, batwoman, Bat Yam, bauble, Bauchi, bauchle, Baucis, baud, baudekin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use bauble in a sentence

In the time before Christmas, only hang a few light ornaments, and hold off on heavy baubles that drag down branches until the week of the holiday.
How to keep a Christmas tree fresh for as long as possible|Dan Seitz|November 29, 2021|Popular-Science
Justice is not some bauble to be sold to the highest bidder.
How Today’s World Can Help Us See That There’s More to the Ethel Rosenberg Story|Anne Sebba|June 9, 2021|Time
The chain’s advertising tactics shifted again in 1979, introducing the Happy Meal with its precious toy baubles.
The McDonald’s Commercials That Live in Our Minds, Rent Free|MM Carrigan|December 18, 2020|Eater
For this apparently new and shiny one-state bauble is in fact a prudently discarded historical relic.
Back to the One-State Future?|David Dabscheck|June 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST

This would not include the occasional sapphire or emerald bauble, nor the gold or pearl necessities.
Titillation Over Tiffany's|Lauren Ashburn|May 28, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Finally I located and extracted the missing bauble, and with a triumphant whoop Elizabeth led me back into the waiting room.
Where I Found Elizabeth Taylor's Diamond Earring|Sandra McElwaine|March 24, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Domino was a beautiful bauble, but its disappearance was a fairly minor loss to the wider culture.
The Quake at Condé Nast|Tina Brown|April 27, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The object had something of the form of a jester's bauble with points, which hung flabby and undulating.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo
A shout of laughter burst from the mob, and the clown flourished his bauble and bowed acknowledgments from side to side.
The Making of a Saint|William Somerset Maugham
His eyes dimmed as they conveyed to him the image of his still beloved Imperatorskoye—he pressed the bauble to his lips.
High Noon|Anonymous
Rising, Bon Vouloir, amid the exclamations of the court, claimed the privilege that went with the bauble.
Under the Rose|Frederic Stewart Isham
Never anything but trouble has followed in the wake of that unhappy bauble of vanity since it first put in its appearance.
The Riddle of the Mysterious Light|Mary E. Hanshew

British Dictionary definitions for bauble

bauble

/ (ˈbɔːbəl) /

noun

a showy toy or trinket of little value; trifle

a small, usually spherical ornament made of coloured or decorated material which is hung from the branches of a Christmas treeUsual US name: Christmas ornament

(formerly) a mock staff of office carried by a court jester

Word Origin for bauble

C14: from Old French baubel plaything, of obscure 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

bauble

Origin of bauble

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH bauble

Words nearby bauble

Words related to bauble

How to use bauble in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bauble

Word Origin for bauble