bauble

C2 Topic:General Vocabulary

Also spelled bawbles

US [ˈbɒbəɫ] UK [ˈbɔːbəɫ] See IPA manual

Freq #40710

Meanings

1

noun
A cheap, showy ornament or piece of jewellery of little value.

The market stall was full of glittering baubles that cost almost nothing.
2

noun
A small shiny ball used to decorate a Christmas tree.

We hung red and gold baubles on every branch of the tree.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a cheap, showy ornament or... trinket gaud

Word family

Forms baubles

Derived forms baublery

Etymology

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

bable Middle English babel Old French bellus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# bauble

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** [ˈbɒbəɫ]
**IPA (UK):** [ˈbɔːbəɫ]
**Frequency rank:** 40710

## Meanings
1. A cheap, showy ornament or piece of jewellery of little value.
2. A small shiny ball used to decorate a Christmas tree.

## Examples
- The market stall was full of glittering baubles that cost almost nothing.
- We hung red and gold baubles on every branch of the tree.

## Derived Forms
- baublery

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bable
- Root: babel
- Root: bellus

## Etymology
From Middle English bable, babel, babull, babulle, from Old French babel, baubel (“trinket, child's toy”), most likely a reduplication of bel, ultimately from Latin bellus (“pretty”).

## AI Etymology
Bauble is from Middle English bable, babel, babull, babulle, from Old French babel, baubel (“trinket, child's toy”), most likely a reduplication of bel, ultimately from Latin bellus (“pretty”). Important recorded forms include bable (Middle English), babel (Old French), and bellus (Latin). Current senses include a cheap, showy ornament or piece of jewellery of little value and a small shiny ball used to decorate a Christmas tree. The wider family includes derived forms such as baublery.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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