gewgaw
6 synonyms for gewgaw, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A flashy, worthless item or plaything; a gaudy trinket, ornament or decorative piece.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Etymology
This word comes from earlier forms gugaw and gygaw, which came from Middle English givegove (“gewgaw, trifle”), a reduplication of Middle English give, geove (“gift”). That in turn goes back to Old English giefu, geofu, geafu (“gift”), from Proto-Germanic *gebō (“gift”). Compare Icelandic gyligjöf (“showy gifts, gewgaw...
Full origin of gewgaw →