tawdry

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtɔːdɹi/ (UK); /ˈtɔ.dɹi/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

From tawdry lace,^[2][3][4] a misdivision of Saint Audrey’s lace, a necktie or ribbon sold at the annual fair at Ely commemorating St Audrey (St Etheldreda),^[2][3][5] a queen of Northumbria who died in 679.^[2][4][5] According to tradition she died of a throat tumour, which she took as punishment for her youthful love of necklaces.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun it first meant tawdry lace, a silk necktie for women.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The necklaces came to stand for rustic or cheap finery, especially as worn by country girls,^[3] and the adjective “showy but cheap and without real value” appears in the 1670s.^[3][6] It was later applied figuratively to style and diction,^[6] and to base or mean conduct.^[5][1]

Timeline

• 1540s – tawdry lace.^[3]
• 1612 – noun, short for tawdry lace;^[6] Etymonline gives the 1610s.^[3]
• 1655 – adjective, according to Merriam-Webster;^[4] Etymonline gives the 1670s^[3] and the OED 1676.^[6]
• a1680 – cheap, pretentious finery.^[6]
• 1696 – figurative use of style.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Gaudy and cheap.
2. Base, mean or shameful.

Noun

1. Cheap, gaudy finery.

Word family

• tawdrily
• tawdriness
• untawdry

References

1. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] [3] [4] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. [1] [2] [3] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
6. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press