Wiktionary

kitsch

See also: Kitsch

English

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

Etymology

edit

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

edit

Noun

edit

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

edit

Derived terms

edit

Translations

edit

Adjective

edit

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

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

Synonyms

edit

Translations

edit

Anagrams

edit

French

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

kitsch m (uncountable)

  1. kitsch

Adjective

edit

kitsch (invariable)

  1. kitsch

Further reading

edit

Italian

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Pronunciation

edit

Adjective

edit

kitsch (invariable)

  1. kitsch
    Synonym: pacchiano

Noun

edit

kitsch m (uncountable)

  1. kitsch

References

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

Further reading

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

Portuguese

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Adjective

edit

kitsch (invariable)

  1. kitsch; kitschy (of questionable aesthetic value)

Noun

edit

kitsch m (uncountable)

  1. kitsch (art of questionable aesthetic value)

Further reading

edit

Romanian

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Noun

edit

kitsch n (plural kitschuri)

  1. kitsch

Declension

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

Spanish

edit

Etymology

edit

Unadapted borrowing from German Kitsch.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ˈkit͡ʃ/ [ˈkit͡ʃ]

Noun

edit

kitsch m (uncountable)

  1. kitsch

Adjective

edit

kitsch (invariable)

  1. kitschy
    Synonyms: cursi, hortera

Usage notes

edit

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

edit

Swedish

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

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

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

Derived terms

edit

References

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=kitsch&oldid=80985814"
  NODES
Note 5