tinsel

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   thin strips or threads of shiny material used as decoration

   Silver tinsel hung from the shop window among the masks and costumes.

2. 2
   noun

   showy or glittering attractiveness that has little real value or substance

   The campaign relied on tinsel and spectacle instead of a convincing policy.

3. 3
   verb

   to decorate or make something sparkle as if with tinsel

   Frost tinseled the branches in the early morning light.

Simplified etymology

Tinsel comes from Latin scintilla, meaning “a spark.” In medieval English it denoted fabric woven with metallic thread or spangles; by the late 16th century it had developed toward the familiar sense of glittering decorative material.

From Middle English tinsel, a costly cloth woven with gold or silver thread, probably through Anglo-Norman from forms related to Old French estincelle ("spark") or estinceler ("to sparkle"). The word shifted from glittering fabric to metallic decoration and then to superficial showiness.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary