tchotchke

Meaning

1. (US, informal) A small ornament of minor value; a knick-knack, a trinket.
2. (US, dated, figuratively, informal) An attractive girl or woman.

Synonyms

chachka

tsatske

tshatshke

tchotchkeleh

bijou

sparkler

🎇

knickknack

knick-knack

spangle

Translations

bibelot

chuchería

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈt͡ʃɒt͡ʃkə/

Etymology

Cognate with Polish: cacko

Cognate with Russian: ца́цка

Cognate with Ukrainian: ца́цка

In summary

Borrowed from Yiddish טשאַטשקע (tshatshke, “ornament; trinket; toy; (figurative) attractive girl or woman”), from a Slavic language and probably ultimately imitative of a baby’s utterances.
Slavic cognates
* Polish cacko (“toy; knick-knack, trinket; pretty thing”), from caca (“nice thing”), and czaczko (“(obsolete) toy; trinket; pretty thing”)
* Russian ца́цка (cácka, “(informal) knick-knack, trinket; (dated) toy”), from ца́ца (cáca, “toy; trinket; well-behaved child; nice person; conceited person”)
* Ukrainian ца́цка (cácka, “(dated) toy; ornament, trinket; conceited person; well-dressed person”), from ца́ца (cáca, “toy; well-behaved child; conceited person; attractive woman”)