furbelow
UK /ˈfəː.bɪ.ləʊ/ · US /ˈfɚ.bɪ.loʊ/ noun, verb
Forms furbelows furbelowing furbelowed
- noun A frill, flounce, or ruffle, as on clothing; a decorative piece of fabric, especially one gathered or pleated as into a ruffle, etc.
- noun (by extension) A small, showy ornamentation.
- verb (transitive) To adorn with a furbelow; to ornament.
Synonyms
Etymology
Corruption of falbala; first attested in the late 1600s or early 1700s. Not related to fur.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Prov. F. farbala, equiv. to F. falbala, It. falbalà.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “furbelow”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details