jewellery
English Edit
Alternative forms Edit
Etymology Edit
From Middle English juelrye, from Old French juelerye, equivalent to jewel + -ery.
Pronunciation Edit
- (UK, US) enPR: jo͞oʹ(ə)lrē IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒuː(ə)lɹi/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
- (US also) enPR: jo͝oʹ(ə)lrē IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒʊ(ə)lɹi/[1]
- (nonstandard) enPR: jo͞oʹ(ə)lərē IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒuː(ə)ləɹi/ (this pronunciation gives rise to the Cockney rhyming slang tomfoolery)
Noun Edit
jewellery (usually uncountable, plural jewelleries)
- Collectively, personal ornamentation such as rings, necklaces, brooches and bracelets, made of precious metals and sometimes set with gemstones.
- Synonyms: (Cockney rhyming slang) tom, (Cockney rhyming slang) tomfoolery
- She had more jewellery ornamented about her than any three ladies needed.
- 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Fate of the Artemis[1]:
- “[…] Captain Markam had been found lying half-insensible, gagged and bound, on the floor of the sitting-room, his hands and feet tightly pinioned, and a woollen comforter wound closely round his mouth and neck ; whilst Mrs. Markham's jewel-case, containing valuable jewellery and the secret plans of Port Arthur, had disappeared. […]”
Synonyms Edit
- see also Thesaurus:jewelry
Derived terms Edit
Related terms Edit
Translations Edit
personal ornamentation
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