tinsel

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtɪns(ə)l/ (UK); /ˈtɪnsəl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English tineseile (“cloth woven with metallic thread”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Anglo-French tencele and Old French estincele, estincelle “spark, spangle”,^[2][3][4][6] or from Anglo-French (satin) estincelé “sparkling satin”.^[7][5] The French word comes from Vulgar Latin *stincilla, from Latin scintilla (“spark”) (see scintillate).^[7][8] It is related to stencil.^[2][3][4] In 14th- and 15th-century French the s of es- had long been silent.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cloth or tissue interwoven with gold or silver thread (about 1448 in Barnhart; mid-15th century in Etymonline; c. 1448 in the MED).^[3][4][6]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective, satin and other fabrics were described as tinsel, “made to glitter with metallic thread” (1502).^[9][3] From the 1590s the word meant very thin sheets, strips or threads of glittering metal used for an inexpensive sparkling effect.^[4][9][8] Hence the figurative sense, anything showy but of little real worth, suggested from the 1590s and established by 1660.^[4][9][7] The verb, to adorn with tinsel, dates from 1594.^[9][3][5] Tinseltown as a nickname for Hollywood is attested by 1972.^[4][8] An unrelated Middle English tinsel meant “loss, damnation”, probably from Old Norse.^[6][9]

Timeline

• about 1448 – cloth woven with gold or silver thread.^[3][6]
• 1502 – adjective, glittering with metallic thread.^[9][3]
• 1593 – thin glittering strips of metal.^[9]
• 1594 – verb, to adorn with tinsel.^[9][3][5]
• 1660 – figuratively, showy worthlessness.^[9]
• 1972 – Tinseltown.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Very thin sheets, strips or threads of a glittering material, used as decoration, as on Christmas trees.
2. Something showy or attractive but of little real worth; superficial glitter.
3. A metallic yarn used for weaving brocade or lamé.

Adjective

1. Made of or decorated with tinsel.
2. Gaudy, showy and basically worthless; tawdry.

Verb

1. To decorate with or as if with tinsel.
2. To give a false sparkle or superficial attractiveness to.

Word family

• tinsellike
• tinselly
• tinselry
• Tinseltown

Related words

• stencil
• scintilla
• scintillate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press