English Explanatory Dictionary

tchotchke

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A small ornament of minor value; a knick-knack, a trinket.
  2. An attractive girl or woman.

Pronunciation

/ˈt͡ʃɒt͡ʃkə/ /ˈt͡ʃɑt͡ʃkə/ /-ki/ En-us-tchotchke.ogg

Word forms

tchotchke tchotchkes chachka chatchka chatchke chotchke tsatske tshatshke tsotchke

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish טשאַטשקע (tshatshke, “ornament; trinket; toy; (figurative) attractive girl or woman”), from a Slavic language and probably ultimately imitative of a baby’s utterances. Slavic cognates * Polish cacko (“toy; knick-knack, trinket; pretty thing”), from caca (“nice thing”), and czaczko (“(obsolete) toy; trinket; pretty thing”) * Russian ца́цка (cácka, “(informal) knick-knack, trinket; (dated) toy”), from ца́ца (cáca, “toy; trinket; well-behaved child; nice person; conceited person”) * Ukrainian ца́цка (cácka, “(dated) toy; ornament, trinket; conceited person; well-dressed person”), from ца́ца (cáca, “toy; well-behaved child; conceited person; attractive woman”)

Synonyms

bauble novelty bric-a-brac fandangle fangle fizgig folderol gewgaw kickshaw knick-knack mathom tat tchotchke trangam trinket whim-wham bimbo angel babe beauty belle betty bit of crumpet bomb bombshell cookie cupcake cutie dimber mort doll enchantress femme fatale fox goddess golden girl HB hottie houri jelly knockout looker lovely odalisque peng ting piece of crumpet pretty stoater stunner stunna ten vixen

Related words

schwag swag
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