decoration English · revision 39457

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=?a1425, translation of Guy de Chauliac|origins=ine-pro *dek-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|decorātiō]],^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010)^(Dictionary.com 2016) a noun of action formed on the past participle of [[m|la|decorō|t=to decorate, adorn]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(OED 2026) which comes from [[m|la|decus|t=ornament, grace, honour]], from [[ine-pro|*dek-|t=to take, accept]].^(Etymonline) The OED and Merriam-Webster allow that it may also have come through [[frm|décoration]], recorded in French from 1393.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline gives the Latin source as Medieval Latin.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In surgery, the covering of blemishes with cosmetics, making the face fair: ?a1425, in a translation of Guy de Chauliac's ''Grande Chirurgie''.^(MED)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The general sense, the action of adorning or embellishing something, is recorded from 1584, in King James VI's ''Essayes of a Prentise''; the OED dates the word from that use, and Merriam-Webster gives 1585.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) By a1678, in Marvell, a ''decoration'' could be the thing that adorns, especially an ornament put up for an occasion, while ''decorations'', from 1887, are flags and wreaths put up for a festival.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Johnson (1755) defined it as ornament, embellishment, added beauty.^(Johnson 1755) From 1815 it is also a star, cross or medal worn as a mark of honour,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and in the United States ''Decoration Day'', when the graves of the Union dead of the Civil War were decorated with flowers, was an old name for Memorial Day by 1870.^(Etymonline) In fireworks, from 1873, the decoration is the charge in the head of a rocket that makes the display.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * ?a1425 – ''decoracioun'', the covering of blemishes with cosmetics.^(MED)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1584 – the action of decorating or adorning.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+ * 1633 – the quality of being ornate (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * a1678 – a thing that decorates, an ornament.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1815 – a medal or badge worn as a mark of honour.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1838 – the state of being decorated.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1870 – ''Decoration Day'' in the United States.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1887 – ''decorations'', flags and wreaths put up for a celebration.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act, process or art of [[decorate|alt=decorating]] something: ''The decoration of the hall took all afternoon.''^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something used to decorate, an [[ornament]], especially one put up for a special occasion: ''birthday decorations''.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[medal]], badge or similar [[emblem]] given as an honour.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # (pyrotechnics) The charge in the head of a [[rocket]] that produces the display.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nondecoration]]

+ * [[overdecoration]]

+ * [[redecoration]]

+ * [[interior decoration]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[decorate]]

+ * [[decor]]

+ * [[decorum]]

+ * [[decorous]]

+ * [[decent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}