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gewgaw

American  
[gyoo-gaw, goo-] / ˈgyu gɔ, ˈgu- /
Also geegaw

noun

  1. something gaudy and useless; trinket; bauble.

gewgaw British  
/ ˈɡuː-, ˈɡjuːɡɔː /

noun

  1. a showy but valueless trinket

"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

adjective

  1. showy and valueless; gaudy

"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

Other Word Forms

  • gewgawed adjective

Etymology

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 )

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.