gawsy
Americanadjective
-
(of people) well-dressed and of cheerful appearance.
-
(of things) large and handsome.
Etymology
Origin of gawsy
First recorded in 1710–20; perhaps variant of gaudy 1; cf. -sy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Ye maun come, and bring your ladye fere; Ye sall na say me no; And ye’se mind, we have aye a bed to spare For that gawsy chield Guizot.”
From The Bon Gaultier Ballads by Richard Doyle
We put up at Widow M'Vicar's, a relation to my first wife, a gawsy, furthy woman, taking great pleasure in hospitality.
From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 04 — Fiction by Sir John Alexander Hammerton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
