Tschotchkes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Items or trinkets that are often inexpensive and decorative
2. Objects with little use or practical value, typically collected or given as gifts
3. Decorative figurines or baubles that can be of sentimental or stylistic interest

Etymology: Yiddish speakers in Eastern Europe used "tshatshke" for a plaything or knickknack, the sort of small thing given to keep a child occupied. Its most likely source is the Polish "cacko," meaning a toy, which Yiddish took in and reshaped. American Yiddish gave the word a second, playful sense: it could describe an attractive young woman, someone a man might admire like a pretty ornament. That meaning is now much less common than the object sense. English took the word from American Yiddish speech, and it came to cover the cheap souvenirs, figurines, and decorative bric-a-brac that crowd shop shelves and mantelpieces.