frippery

  • 1Frippery — Frip per*y, n. [F. friperie, fr. fruper. See {Fripper}.] 1. Coast off clothes. [Obs.] B. Jonson. [1913 Webster] 2. Hence: Secondhand finery; cheap and tawdry decoration; affected elegance. [1913 Webster] Fond of gauze and French frippery.… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Frippery — Frip per*y, a. Trifling; contemptible. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3frippery — 1560s, old clothes, cast off garments, from M.Fr. friperie old clothes, an old clothes shop, from O.Fr. freperie, feuperie old rags, rubbish (13c.), from frepe, feupe fringe; rags, old clothes, from L.L. faluppa chip, splinter, straw, fiber. The… …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 4frippery — [n] waste, nonsense adornment, bauble, decoration, fanciness, fandangle*, flashiness, frill, fussiness, gaudiness, knickknack, meretriciousness, ornament, ostentation, pretentiousness, showiness, tawdriness, toy, trinket; concepts 655,824 Ant.… …

    New thesaurus

  • 5frippery — ► NOUN (pl. fripperies) 1) showy or unnecessary ornament. 2) a tawdry or frivolous thing. ORIGIN Old French freperie second hand clothes , from frepe rag …

    English terms dictionary

  • 6frippery — [frip′ər ē] n. pl. fripperies [orig., castoff clothes < Fr friperie < OFr freperie < frepe, a rag < ? ML faluppa, a shaving, straw] 1. cheap, gaudy clothes; tawdry finery 2. showy display in dress, manners, speech, etc.; affectation… …

    English World dictionary

  • 7frippery — [[t]frɪ̱pəri[/t]] fripperies N UNCOUNT: also N in pl (disapproval) If you refer to something as frippery, you mean that it is silly or unnecessary, and only done or worn for pleasure [mainly BRIT] ...all the fripperies with which the Edwardian… …

    English dictionary

  • 8frippery — UK [ˈfrɪpərɪ] / US noun [countable/uncountable] Word forms frippery : singular frippery plural fripperies something useless but attractive or enjoyable …

    English dictionary

  • 9frippery — noun a) Ostentation, as in fancy clothing. 1892 Frederick Law Olmsted, Report by F.L.O. , April 1892. Quoted in 2003, , , Random House, ISBN 0609608444, page 170: b) Useless things; trifles. , [ Olmsted reiterated his insistence that in Chicago ] …

    Wiktionary

  • 10frippery — noun (plural peries) Etymology: Middle French friperie, alteration of Old French freperie, from frepe old garment Date: 1568 1. obsolete a. cast off clothes b. archaic a place where old clothes are sold 2 …

    New Collegiate Dictionary