gimcrack








noun

  1. a showy, useless trifle; gewgaw.

adjective

  1. showy but useless.

adjective

  1. cheap; shoddy

noun

  1. a cheap showy trifle or gadget
n.

1610s, “showy person;” sense of “trifle” first recorded 1839; of uncertain origin, perhaps alteration of gibecrake, a kind of ornament on wooden furniture (mid-14c.), perhaps from Old French giber “to rattle, shake” + Middle English crak “sharp noise, crack.” In 18c.-19c. it also meant “a person who has a turn for mechanical contrivances.”

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