Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
[ad_1] noun, plural frip·per·ies.
- finery in dress, especially when showy, gaudy, or the like.
- empty display; ostentation.
- gewgaws; trifles.
noun plural -peries
- ornate or showy clothing or adornment
- showiness; ostentation
- unimportant considerations; trifles; trivia
1560s, “old clothes, cast-off garments,” from Middle French friperie “old clothes, an old clothes shop,” from Old French freperie, feuperie “old rags, rubbish” (13c.), from frepe, feupe “fringe; rags, old clothes,” from Late Latin faluppa “chip, splinter, straw, fiber.” The notion is of “things worn down, clothes rubbed to rags.” The ironic meaning “finery” (but with overtones of tawdriness) dates from 1630s.