Wiktionary

kitsch

See also: Kitsch

English

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WOTD – 19 September 2008
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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From German Kitsch, from dialectal kitschen (“to coat, to smear”); the word and concept were popularized in the 1930s by several critics who contrasted it with avant garde art.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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kitsch (usually uncountable, plural kitsches)

  1. Art, decorative objects, and other forms of representation of questionable artistic or aesthetic value; a representation that is excessively sentimental, overdone, or vulgar.
    • 1939, Clement Greenberg, “Avant Garde and Kitsch”, in The Partisan Review‎[1], archived from the original on 13 October 2007:
      Because it can be turned out mechanically, kitsch has become an integral part of our productive system in a way in which true culture could never be, except accidentally.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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kitsch (comparative kitscher or more kitsch, superlative kitschest or most kitsch)

  1. Of art and decor: of questionable aesthetic value; excessively sentimental, overdone or vulgar.
    • 1989, Graham Greene, Yours etc: Letters to the Press 1945-1989, →ISBN, page 243:
      […] a picture of lemur-eyed children of the sort one sees in the kitscher sort of Italian restaurant […]
    • June/July 1996, Robert Silberman, “The stuff of art: Judy Onofrio”, in American Craft, pages 40–45:
      Abe Lincoln, Paul Bunyan and kitsch souvenir coconut heads come across as icons of masculinity.
    • spring 2005, Ronald Frame, “Critical Paranoia”, in Michigan Quarterly Review, page 285:
      I recognized her at once even though she wasn't wearing the tweed hunting outfit and the kitsch headwear.

Usage notes

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  • Although the forms kitscher and kitschest are attested, those formed on kitschy are more common, particularly for the comparative.

Synonyms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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French

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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kitsch m (uncountable)

  1. kitsch

Adjective

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kitsch (invariable)

  1. kitsch

Further reading

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Italian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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kitsch (invariable)

  1. kitsch
    Synonym: pacchiano

Noun

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kitsch m (uncountable)

  1. kitsch

References

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  1. ^ kitsch in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Further reading

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  • kitsch in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Portuguese

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Etymology

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Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Adjective

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kitsch (invariable)

  1. kitsch; kitschy (of questionable aesthetic value)

Noun

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kitsch m (uncountable)

  1. kitsch (art of questionable aesthetic value)

Further reading

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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Noun

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kitsch n (plural kitschuri)

  1. kitsch

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative kitsch kitschul kitschuri kitschurile
genitive-dative kitsch kitschului kitschuri kitschurilor
vocative kitschule kitschurilor

Spanish

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from German Kitsch.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈkit͡ʃ/ [ˈkit͡ʃ]

Noun

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kitsch m (uncountable)

  1. kitsch

Adjective

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kitsch (invariable)

  1. kitschy
    Synonyms: cursi, hortera

Usage notes

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According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

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Swedish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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kitsch c (uncountable)

  1. kitsch
    Min mosters handmålade madonnastaty i elfenben är ren kitsch.
    My aunt's hand-painted ivory Madonna statue is pure kitsch.

Declension

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Declension of kitsch
nominative genitive
singular indefinite kitsch kitschs
definite kitschen kitschens
plural indefinite — —
definite — —

Derived terms

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References

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