Word of the Day

: December 17, 2008

kickshaw

noun KICK-shaw

What It Means

1 : a fancy dish

2 : a showy trifle

kickshaw in Context

The shop was filled with refrigerator magnets, back-scratchers, snow globes, and other kickshaws, all adorned with images of smiling pigs.

Did You Know?

“Kickshaw” began its career in the late 16th century as a borrowing from the French "quelque chose" -- literally, “something.” In line with the French pronunciation of the day, the “l” was dropped and the word was anglicized as "kickshaws" or "kickshoes." English speakers soon lost all consciousness of the word’s French origin and, by taking "kickshaws" as plural, created the new singular noun “kickshaw.”