bauble English · revision 1617

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: [ˈbɔːbəɫ] ''(UK)''; /ˈbɔbəl/, /ˈbɑbəl/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|babel]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|fro|baubel|t=child's toy, trinket]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) a word of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1995) Etymonline suggests it is probably a reduplication of ''bel'', from [[la|bellus|t=pretty]],^(Etymonline) while Random House treats it as built on an expressive base.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A showy trinket or ornament of little worth (about 1320).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==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).^(OED 1989) From these it came to mean any childish or foolish matter (1579),^(OED 1989) and by the 1630s anything of little or no value.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1320 – a showy trinket.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * about 1370 – the baton carried by a court fool.^(OED 1989)

+ * about 1460 – a child's toy, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1579 – a foolish matter.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1630s – a trifle of no value.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small, showy ornament of little value; a [[trinket]] or [[gewgaw]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[jester|alt=jester's]] mock [[scepter]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something trivial and worthless.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A shiny ball hung on a Christmas tree.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bibelot]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}