readymade
or read·y-made
[red-ee-meyd]
noun
an everyday manufactured object, as a bottle rack, a snow shovel, a urinal, or a comb, that may by the creative act of selection and designation by an artist attain status as a work of art: associated almost exclusively with the aesthetic activities of Marcel Duchamp during the period 1915 to 1917.
Origin of readymade
< French < English; term introduced by Duchamp in 1915
ready-made
[red-ee-meyd]
adjective
noun
Origin of ready-made
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for readymade
banal, dull, corny, hackneyed, stereotyped, built, instant, off-the-rack, prefabricated, common, commonplace, conventional, routine, stock, uninspired, set, drained, tired, exhaustedExamples from the Web for readymade
Contemporary Examples of readymade
It counts as a readymade, of sorts, because like Duchamp's famous urinal it transplants a functional object into the art world.
Historical Examples of readymade
Camp was pitched upon a knoll with plenty of pine trees so standing that natural tentpoles were readymade.
Girl Scouts in the RockiesLillian Elizabeth Roy
And that was devoted to what—readymade clothes, ski clothes, and that sort of thing?
Warren Commission (9 of 26): Hearings Vol. IX (of 15)The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
When a readymade definition, admirably rendered, is at your command, why be at the pains of making a new one for yourself?
The Feasts of AutolycusElizabeth Robins Pennell
ready-made
adjective
noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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