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ostentation

 - 3 dictionary results

os⋅ten⋅ta⋅tion

  [os-ten-tey-shuhn, -tuhn-]
–noun
1. pretentious or conspicuous show, as of wealth or importance; display intended to impress others.
2. Archaic. the act of showing or exhibiting; display.
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Origin:
1425–75; late ME ostentacioun < MF ostentation < L ostentātiōn- (s. of ostentātiō), equiv. to ostentāt(us) ptp. of ostentāre to display, exhibit, freq. of ostendere to present, display (equiv. to os-, var of ob- ob- + ten(dere) to stretch + -t- freq. suffix + -ātus -ate 1 ) + -iōn- -ion

Synonyms:
1. pretension, pretense. See show.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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os·ten·ta·tion   (ŏs'těn-tā'shən, -tən-)   
n.  

  1. Pretentious display meant to impress others; boastful showiness.

  2. Archaic The act or an instance of showing; an exhibition.


[Middle English ostentacioun, from Old French ostentacion, from Latin ostentātiō, ostentātiōn-, from ostentāre, frequentative of ostendere, to show; see ostensible.]
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

ostentation 
1436, from M.Fr. ostentation (1366), from L. ostentationem (nom. ostentatio) "vain display," from ostentatus, pp. of ostentare "to display," freq. of ostendere (see ostensible).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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