Etymologically
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showcase

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈʃəʊ.keɪs/, US /ˈʃoʊ.keɪs/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound, from English show + case.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A glass case for displaying delicate or valuable things: 1835.[2][4][3]

Semantic evolution

Attributive and adjectival use is from 1903.[4] Figuratively, a place or medium for presenting something attractively, it is attested by 1937,[2][4] and the verb, at first American, by 1945.[2][4][3]

Timeline

  • 1835 – a glass display case.[2][4]
  • 1937 – a showcase (figurative).[2][4]
  • 1945 – to showcase (verb).[2][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A glass case for displaying objects in a shop or museum.
  2. A setting in which something is shown to its best advantage.

Verb

  1. To display prominently, especially to advantage.

Adjective

  1. Displayed, or worthy of display, as in a showcase.

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ 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