kitsch
English edit
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
- (UK, US) enPR: kĭch, IPA(key): /kɪt͡ʃ/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪtʃ
- Homophone: Kizh
Noun edit
kitsch (usually uncountable, plural kitsches)
- 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
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Adjective edit
kitsch (comparative kitscher or more kitsch, superlative kitschest or most kitsch)
- 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
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Anagrams edit
French edit
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
kitsch m (uncountable)
Adjective edit
kitsch (invariable)
Further reading edit
- “kitsch”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
kitsch (invariable)
Noun edit
kitsch m (uncountable)
References edit
- ^ 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
Adjective edit
kitsch (invariable)
Noun edit
kitsch m (uncountable)
- kitsch (art of questionable aesthetic value)
Further reading edit
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
kitsch n (plural kitschuri)
Declension edit
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) kitsch | kitschul | (niște) kitschuri | kitschurile |
genitive/dative | (unui) kitsch | kitschului | (unor) kitschuri | kitschurilor |
vocative | kitschule | kitschurilor |
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Unadapted borrowing from German Kitsch.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
kitsch m (uncountable)
Adjective edit
kitsch (invariable)
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
- “kitsch”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Swedish edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
kitsch c (uncountable)
- 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 | ||||
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Uncountable | ||||
Indefinite | Definite | |||
Nominative | kitsch | kitschen | — | — |
Genitive | kitschs | kitschens | — | — |