frippery

[ frip-uh-ree ]

noun

, plural frip·per·ies.

1. finery in dress, especially when showy, gaudy, or the like.
2. empty display; ostentation.
3. gewgaws; trifles.

frippery

/ ˈfrɪpərɪ /

noun

1. ornate or showy clothing or adornment
2. showiness; ostentation
3. unimportant considerations; trifles; trivia

Word History and Origins

Origin of frippery¹

1560–70; < French friperie, Old French freperie, equivalent to frepe rag + -erie -ery

Word History and Origins

Origin of frippery¹

C16: from Old French freperie , from frepe frill, rag, old garment, from Medieval Latin faluppa a straw, splinter, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

The more stylized approaches of traditional “Streetcar” revivals aren’t just frippery.

From Los Angeles Times

Manchester Collective's job, he says, is "to help to reposition classical music so it's close to the heart of cultural life in the UK, rather than being a peripheral frippery for the few rather than the many".

From BBC

Belafonte turned the famous into folks, mixing the frippery of the format with the gravitas of the moment.

From New York Times

Such fairy-tale frippery is an undeniable red carpet cliché, but at least when it came to Ms. Bailey, the look was also a clever nod to her role as Ariel, a.k.a. the Little Mermaid, in the upcoming film; a bit of strategic movie-marketing magic and a fashion double entendre that took the dress to a whole different level.

From New York Times

All this appears to be a pile of partisan frippery that should never have been filed and could never be taken seriously in the federal courts.

From Slate