schlock English · revision 1112

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃlɒk/ ''(UK)''; /ʃlɑk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably [[bor|yi|שלאַק|tr=shlak]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) of disputed origin.^(Etymonline) Barnhart and Etymonline take it from German ''Schlacke'' “dregs, dross”, related to [[slag]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) while the American Heritage Dictionary, Merriam-Webster and Random House relate it to Yiddish ''shlak'' “stroke, blow; evil, nuisance”, from Middle High German ''slac'' “blow”,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) which the OED also favours.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Cheap, shoddy or defective goods (1915).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was used mostly in commerce at first,^(Etymonline) and by the mid-20th century of trashy fiction, films and television.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) It has been used as an adjective since 1916,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and ''schlocky'' is from 1968.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Schlockmeister'' is recorded by 1953.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1915 – shoddy goods.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1916 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1953 – ''schlockmeister''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1968 – ''schlocky''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Something, such as goods, writing or entertainment, that is cheap, inferior or [[shoddy]]; [[junk]].^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of low quality; cheap or trashy.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[schlockmeister]]

+ * [[schlocky]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[slag]]

+ * [[kitsch]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Merriam-Webster and Random House also give the spelling ''shlock''.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}