kitsch English · revision 1961

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɪt͡ʃ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|de|Kitsch]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) probably of dialect origin,^(AHD) from ''kitschen'' “to smear”^(Etymonline) or “to throw together a work of art”.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Art or objects marked by worthless pretentiousness (1926 in the OED and Etymonline; 1925 in Merriam-Webster).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Before 1926 it appeared in English as a German word,^(Etymonline) as in a 1921 article contrasting German ''süsses Kitsch'', the art of the picture postcard, with English taste.^(Etymonline) It came to mean sentimental, gaudy or vulgar art and decoration made to appeal to popular taste,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) and also the attitude that enjoys it.^(AHD) The adjective ''kitschy'' follows in 1951.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1921 – as a German word in English.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1925–26 – kitsch.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1951 – ''kitschy''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Art or objects of sentimental, pretentious or vulgar bad taste, made to appeal to popular taste.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A tacky or lowbrow quality.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Characterized by kitsch.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[kitschify]]

+ * [[kitschy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[camp]]

+ * [[tawdry]]

+ * [[gaudy]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}