bauble

[ baw-buhl ]
See synonyms for bauble on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket; gewgaw.

  2. a jester's scepter.

Origin of bauble

1
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

Words Nearby bauble

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

How to use bauble in a sentence

  • 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 | THE 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 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Finally I located and extracted the missing bauble, and with a triumphant whoop Elizabeth led me back into the waiting room.

  • 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 | THE 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.

British Dictionary definitions for bauble

bauble

/ (ˈbɔːbəl) /


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 tree: Usual US name: Christmas ornament

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

Origin of bauble

1
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