GAUDY
What does "GAUDY" mean?
Extravagantly bright or showy, usually in a tasteless way.
Meanings
- Too bright, flashy, or ornate to be in good taste; garish. The casino's gaudy gold ceilings glittered under a thousand bulbs.
- At some British universities, especially Oxford, a celebratory reunion feast for former members of a college. He returned to college for the annual gaudy and dined in the old hall. formal
Did you know?
- At Oxford a 'gaudy' is a joyous reunion feast, sharing its root with the adjective in the Latin 'gaudium', joy - so the word for tasteless excess and the word for a grand celebration are the same.
Word origin
From Middle English 'gaudy', perhaps from 'gaud' (a showy ornament or trinket), from Latin 'gaudium' (joy) via the Latin 'gaude' (rejoice) said in prayers; the feast sense shares that root of rejoicing.
Remember it
GAUDY hides 'AU' like 'AU', the chemical symbol for gold - a gaudy thing is dripping with too much fake gold.
A little poem
Every bulb is lit-
the room shouts what a whisper
could have said far better.
tercet
Wordplay
- I told my friend his sequined jacket was gaudy. He took it as a compliment - turns out he thought I said 'godly'.
What it teaches
Trying too hard to be seen is the surest way to be seen through.
Quick facts
What does GAUDY mean?
Extravagantly bright or showy, usually in a tasteless way.
Is GAUDY a valid word?
Yes — GAUDY is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is GAUDY?
GAUDY has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does GAUDY come from?
From Middle English 'gaudy', perhaps from 'gaud' (a showy ornament or trinket), from Latin 'gaudium' (joy) via the Latin 'gaude' (rejoice) said in prayers; the feast sense shares that root of rejoicing.
What can GAUDY teach us?
Trying too hard to be seen is the surest way to be seen through.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.