English Explanatory Dictionary

trinket

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A small, showy ornament, especially a piece of jewellery.
  2. A thing of little practical and/or monetary value; a toy, a trifle.
  3. A small item of food; a small dainty.
  4. A small item forming part of a set of equipment; an accessory, an accoutrement.
  5. An item used in a religious rite (also, a religious rite, belief, etc.) regarded as superfluous or trivial.
verb
  1. Often followed by out: to adorn (someone or something) with trinkets (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1).
noun
  1. A narrow or small watercourse.
noun
  1. A small vessel for drinking from; a cup, a mug, a porringer.
noun
  1. A small sail, specifically, a three-cornered sail formerly carried on a ship's foremast, probably on a lateen yard.
verb
  1. To act in a secret, and often dishonest, way; to have secret, and often dishonest, dealings; to intrigue, to scheme.

Pronunciation

/ˈtɹɪŋkɪt/ En-us-trinket.ogg /ˈtɹɪŋkət/

Word forms

trinket trinkets trinketing trinketed

Etymology

The origin of the noun is unknown; the word is possibly related to Old French tryncle (“piece of jewellery”). The following have also been suggested: * From Middle English trenket, trynket (“small knife, specifically, a cordwainer’s knife”). * From trick (“plaything, toy; trifle”, noun) or trick (verb). However, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, there is insufficient evidence of any shift of meaning from these words to the current meanings of trinket. The verb is derived from the noun.

Synonyms

bauble novelty bric-a-brac fandangle fangle fizgig folderol gewgaw kickshaw knick-knack mathom tat tchotchke trangam trinket whim-wham bagatelle bag of shells dicky dicky-bird fico fig flamfew flyspeck minuity niff-naff picayune scuddick sop ticky-tack toy trick trifle triviality whiffle white chip

Related words

curio schwag swag

Derived words

trinkery trinketer trinketry trinkety trinkilo trinklement trinklet trinkum trinketed
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on T Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary