bauble

English

Etymology

From Old French baubel (“trinket, child's toy”), most likely a reduplication of bel, ultimately from Latin bellus (“pretty”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): [ˈbɔːbəɫ]
• (Scots) IPA^(key): [ˈbɒbəɫ]
• Rhymes: -ɔːbəl
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔbəl/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑbəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

bauble (plural baubles)

1. A cheap showy ornament piece of jewellery; a gewgaw.
   • Mary W. Shelley, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, Chapter 8

     as to the bauble on which the chief proof rests, if she had earnestly desired it, I should have willingly given it to her, so much do I esteem and value her.

2. A club or sceptre carried by a jester.
3. A small shiny spherical decoration, commonly put on Christmas trees.

Synonyms

• (showy ornament): See also: Thesaurus:trinket

Translations

cheap showy ornament piece of jewellery

• Bulgarian: дрънкулка (bg) (drǎnkulka)
• Dutch: prulletje (nl)snuisterij (nl)
• Finnish: rihkamakoru, hely (fi)
• French: babiole (fr) f

• Greek: μπιχλιμπίδι (el) n (bichlimpídi)
• Italian: chincaglieria f, cianfrusaglia (it) f
• Russian: безделу́шка (ru) f (bezdelúška), побряку́шка (ru) f (pobrjakúška)
• Serbo-Croatian: drangulija (sh), đinđuva (sh)

club or sceptre carried by a jester

• Finnish: narrinsauva

• Russian: шутовской жезл m (šutovskoj žezl)

small shiny spherical decoration, commonly put on Christmas trees

• Bulgarian: топка (bg) (topka)
• Dutch: kerstbal (nl) m
• Finnish: joulupallo
• French: boule de Noël f
• German: Christbaumkugel (de) f

• Hungarian: gömbdísz
• Polish: bombka (pl) f, bańka (pl) f
• Russian: ёлочный шар m (jóločnyj šar)
• Spanish: bola de navidad f
• Swedish: julgranskula c

Further reading

• bauble on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• bauble in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• bubale