furbelow

[ fur-buh-loh ]

noun

1. a ruffle or flounce, as on a woman's skirt or petticoat.
2. any bit of showy trimming or finery.

verb (used with object)

1. to ornament with or as if with furbelows.

furbelow

/ ˈfɜːbɪˌləʊ /

noun

1. a flounce, ruffle, or other ornamental trim
2. often plural showy ornamentation

verb

1. tr to put a furbelow on (a garment)

Other Words From

• un·furbe·lowed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of furbelow¹

First recorded in 1670–80; variant of falbala

Word History and Origins

Origin of furbelow¹

C18: by folk etymology from French dialect farbella ; see falbala

Example Sentences

Some of the stranger words that surfaced: “furbelow,” “phobotactic” and “saponaceous.”

From Washington Post

Setting out with a furbelow of twinkly noises and a heroic guitar line, the song then breaks into a cascade of keyboard power chords before settling into a sparse groove, with Oakey delivering one of the purest of melodic verses the 80s had to offer.

From The Guardian

You walk in on someone watching a hilarious television sitcom, but rather than concentrating on the actors and their exquisitely scripted lines, you hear instead the laughter track, one that, while it may have been recorded using a live audience, watching live comedy, has since been subjected to post-production, so each physical flourish and verbal furbelow of the piece can be garnished with appropriate laughter.

From BBC

Boston ladies, their skirts all passe- mentarie and furbelow, India silk and jaconet, crowded the chambers, swiveling their hoops and panniers like dames on clocks to navigate the doors.

From Literature

ES: Fashion is born by small facts, trends ... never by trying to make little pleats and furbelow, by trinkets, by clothes easy to copy, or by the shortening or lengthening of a skirt.

From New York Times

Related Words

• color
• design
• finery
• ornament
• plaque
• ribbon
• trinket
• wreath