bauble
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Pronunciation
- IPA: [ˈbɔːbəɫ] (UK); /ˈbɔbəl/, /ˈbɑbəl/ (US)[1]
Etymology
It is inherited from Middle English babel,[2][3][4][5] from Old French baubel (“child's toy, trinket”),[2][3][6][5] a word of uncertain origin.[3] Etymonline suggests it is probably a reduplication of bel, from Latin bellus (“pretty”),[6] while Random House treats it as built on an expressive base.[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
A showy trinket or ornament of little worth (about 1320).[7][6][3]
Semantic evolution
The word also meant a child's plaything (about 1460) and a jester's baton topped with a carved head with ass's ears (about 1370).[7] From these it came to mean any childish or foolish matter (1579),[7] and by the 1630s anything of little or no value.[6]
Timeline
- about 1320 – a showy trinket.[7][3]
- about 1370 – the baton carried by a court fool.[7]
- about 1460 – a child's toy, now obsolete.[7]
- 1579 – a foolish matter.[7]
- 1630s – a trifle of no value.[6]
Modern meaning
Noun
- A small, showy ornament of little value; a trinket or gewgaw.
- A jester's mock scepter.
- Something trivial and worthless.
- A shiny ball hung on a Christmas tree.
Related words
- bibelot
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
- ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press