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gaudy

 - 5 dictionary results

gaud⋅y

1  [gaw-dee]
Use gaudy in a Sentence
–adjective, gaud⋅i⋅er, gaud⋅i⋅est.
1. brilliantly or excessively showy: gaudy plumage.
2. cheaply showy in a tasteless way; flashy.
3. ostentatiously ornamented; garish.
Origin:
1520–30; orig. attributive use of gaudy 2 ; later taken as a deriv. of gaud

Related forms:
gaud⋅i⋅ly, adverb
gaud⋅i⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. tawdry, loud; conspicuous, obvious. Gaudy, flashy, garish, showy agree in the idea of conspicuousness and, often, bad taste. That which is gaudy challenges the eye, as by brilliant colors or evident cost, and is not in good taste: a gaudy hat. Flashy suggests insistent and vulgar display, in rather a sporty manner: a flashy necktie. Garish suggests a glaring brightness, or crude vividness of color, and too much ornamentation: garish decorations. Showy applies to that which is strikingly conspicuous, but not necessarily offensive to good taste: a garden of showy flowers; a showy dress.

Antonyms:
2. modest, sober.

gaud⋅y

2  [gaw-dee]
–noun, plural gaud⋅ies. British.
a festival or celebration, esp. an annual college feast.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L gaudium joy, delight
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gaudy
gaud·y 1   (gô'dē)   
adj.   gaud·i·er, gaud·i·est
Showy in a tasteless or vulgar way.

[Possibly from gaudy2 (influenced by gaud).]
gaud'i·ly adv., gaud'i·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean tastelessly showy: a gaudy costume; a flashy ring; garish colors; a loud sport shirt; a meretricious yet stylish book; tawdry ornaments.
gaud·y 2   (gô'dē)   
n.   pl. gaud·ies Chiefly British
A feast, especially an annual university dinner.

[Middle English gaudi, gaud, prank, trick, possibly from Old French gaudie, merriment (from gaudir, to enjoy, make merry, from Latin gaudēre, to rejoice) and from Latin gaudium, enjoyment, merry-making (from gaudēre, to rejoice; see gāu- in Indo-European roots).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

gaudy 
1529, from M.E. gaud "deception, trick," also "ornamental bead, rosary" (c.1300), possibly from Anglo-Fr. gaudir "be merry, scoff," from L. gaudere "rejoice." Alternate (less likely) etymology is from M.E. gaudy-green "yellowish-green," originally "green dye" obtained from a plant formerly known as weld, from a Gmc. source (see weld (n.)), which became gaude in O.Fr. The Eng. term supposedly shifted sense from "weld-dye" to "bright."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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