different between gewgaw vs bibelot

English

Alternative forms

• geegaw
• gew-gaw

Etymology

From earlier gugaw, gygaw, from Middle English givegove (“gewgaw, trifle”), a reduplication of Middle English give, geove (“gift”), from Old English giefu, geofu, geafu (“gift”), from Proto-Germanic *geb? (“gift”). Compare Icelandic gyligjöf (“showy gifts, gewgaw”). More at give.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??ju????/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??u??/
  • (US) (cot-caught merger)

Noun

gewgaw (plural gewgaws)

1. A showy trifle, a toy; a showy trinket, ornament or decoration. [from 15th c.]

   • A heavy gewgaw called a crown.

   • 1951, Isaac Asimov, Foundation (1974 Panther Books Ltd publication), part V: “The Merchant Princes”, chapter 11, page 163, ¶¶ 2–4:

     “I am not of the neighbourhood,” said Mallow, calmly, “but the matter is irrelevant. I have had the honour to send you a little gift yesterday?——” [¶] The tech-man’s nose lifted. “I received it. An interesting gewgaw. I may have use for it on occasion.” [¶] I have other and more interesting gifts. Quite out of the gewgaw stage.”

   • 2011, Will Self, "The frowniest spot on Earth", London Review of Books, XXXIII.9:

     You or I may well view our desire to push buttons and order new electronic gewgaws as the mere reflex spasms of consumerism, but to this dynamic duo the future of the earth depends on our instant gratification more than anything else.

Translations

Adjective

gewgaw (not comparable)

1. Showy; unreal; pretentious.
   • 1678, Dryden, John, All for Love, Scene II,

     The rattle of a globe to play withal,

     This gewgaw world, and put him cheaply off;

   • 1855, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Maud; A Monodrama, X, stanza 1,

     Seeing his gewgaw castle shine,

     New as his title, built last year.

Synonyms

• gewgawish

Derived terms

• Jew's harp (possibly)

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French bibelot.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /bib(?)lo?/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /bib(?)l??/

Noun

bibelot (plural bibelots)

1. A bauble, knickknack or trinket.
   • 1886, F. Marion Crawford, A Tale of a Lonely Parish, 2012, Project Gutenberg (Tredition Classics), unnumbered page,

     In her own eyes she was indeed living in a state approaching to penury, but the spectacle of her pictures, her furniture and her bibelots had impressed John with a very different idea.

   • 1960, Arthur Kober, George Oppenheimer, A Mighty Man is He, Dramatists Play Service, page 31,

     Barbara's glance now falls on the bibelot, which she picks up. She catches sight of the curtain and, bibelot in hand, goes to align it. She suddenly becomes aware of the bibelot in her hand.

   • 2008, Willa Z. Silverman, The New Bibliopolis: French Book Collectors and the Culture of Print, 1880–1914, University of Toronto Press, page 191,

     Excluded from the world of 'true,' high culture, women, it was claimed, loved books primarily as bibelots, like silks, lace, sconces, fans, or porcelain.

2. A miniature book of an elegant design.

Anagrams

• biobelt

French

Etymology

From an onomatopoeic root bib-. Compare English bauble and Old French baubel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.blo/

Noun

bibelot m (plural bibelots)

1. knick-knack, bauble

Derived terms

• bibelotage
• bibeloter
• bibeloteur
• bibelotier

Descendants

• ? Polish: bibelot
• ? Portuguese: bibelô, bibelot

Further reading

• “bibelot” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Polish

Etymology

From French bibelot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?i?b?.l?t/

Noun

bibelot m inan (diminutive bibelocik)

1. bibelot, knick-knack

Declension

Further reading

• bibelot in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• bibelot in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Noun

bibelot m (plural bibelots)

1. (proscribed) Alternative form of bibelô