different between glitter vs ostentation

English

Etymology

From Middle English gliteren, from Old Norse glitra, from Proto-Germanic *glitr?n? (“to glitter”), from Proto-Indo-European *??ley-.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??l?t?(?)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??l?t?/, [??l???]
• Rhymes: -?t?(r)

Noun

glitter (countable and uncountable, plural glitters)

1. A bright, sparkling light; shininess or brilliance.
   • 1913, Mary Averill, Japanese flower arrangement Chapter 20

     This to them seems most like mother earth in color, and therefore best, as it is, to enhance the beauty of flowers instead of detracting from their exquisite shades. What a contrast to the glitter and show of our silver vases, which represent generally little else but their cost.

   • 1841, Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge Chapter 57

     As yet there had been no symptom of the news having any better foundation than in the fears of those who brought it, but The Boot had not been deserted five minutes, when there appeared, coming across the fields, a body of men who, it was easy to see, by the glitter of their arms and ornaments in the sun, and by their orderly and regular mode of advancing

2. A shiny, decorative adornment, sometimes sprinkled on glue to make simple artwork.
3. (figuratively) Glitz.

Descendants

• ? Portuguese: glitter
• ? Spanish: glitter

Translations

Verb

glitter (third-person singular simple present glitters, present participle glittering, simple past and past participle glittered)

1. To sparkle with light; to shine with a brilliant and broken light or showy luster; to gleam.

   a glittering sword

   the glittering ornaments on a Christmas tree

   • The field yet glitters with the pomp of war.

2. To be showy, specious, or striking, and hence attractive.

   the glittering scenes of a court

Derived terms

• all that glitters is not gold

Translations

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English glitter.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /??li.te?/

Noun

glitter m (uncountable)

1. glitter (shiny, decorative dust)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English glitter.

Noun

glitter m (plural glitteres)

1. glitter

Swedish

Etymology

Probably from Old Norse glitra.

Noun

glitter n (uncountable)

1. glitter; a shiny, decorative adornment

Declension

Related terms

• glittra
• glittrig

English

Etymology

Originated 1425–75 from late Middle English ostentacioun, borrowed from Middle French ostentation, from Latin ostent?ti?, ostent?ti?nem, equivalent to ostent?tus (past participle of ostent?re, to display or exhibit), frequentative of ostendere (“to present, display”) + -i?n.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??st?n?te???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

ostentation (usually uncountable, plural ostentations)

1. Ambitious display; vain show; display intended to excite admiration or applause.
2. (obsolete) A show or spectacle.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 4 Scene 1

     Let her awhile be secretly kept in,

     And publish it that she is dead indeed:

     Maintain a mourning ostentation;

Synonyms

• parade
• pageantry
• show
• showiness
• pomp
• pompousness
• vaunting
• boasting
• See also Thesaurus:arrogance

Related terms

• ostentatious
• ostensive
• ostensible

Translations

Further reading

• ostentation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ostentation in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

References

• “ostentation”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, ?ISBN
• “ostentation” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "ostentation" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s.t??.ta.sj??/

Noun

ostentation f (plural ostentations)

1. ostentation