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bauble

[baw-buh l]
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noun
  1. a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket; gewgaw.
  2. a jester's scepter.
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Origin of bauble

1275–1325; Middle English babel, babulle < Old French babel, baubel, derivatives of an expressive base with varying vocalisms; compare Old French baubelet, bibelot
Can be confusedbabble Babel bauble bubble
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bauble

Historical Examples

  • Her black eyes gleamed with triumph at the sight of the bauble.

    City of Endless Night

    Milo Hastings

  • It was thus I now toyed there with my fate in my hands, as might a child have toyed with a bauble.

    Ruggles of Red Gap

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • He let it lie on the table before him and gazed at the bauble in a strong distaste.

    The Prisoner

    Alice Brown

  • So you had better produce the other bauble you stole at the same time.

    David Elginbrod

    George MacDonald

  • Actually, he knew he could get an easy twenty-five balata for the bauble in Karth.

    The Players

    Everett B. Cole

British Dictionary definitions for bauble

bauble

noun
  1. a showy toy or trinket of little value; trifle
  2. 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
  3. (formerly) a mock staff of office carried by a court jester
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Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for bauble

n.

"showy trinket or ornament," early 14c., from Old French baubel "child's toy, trinket," probably a reduplication of bel, from Latin bellus "pretty" (see bene-). Or else related to babe, baby.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper