Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tinsel

/ˈtɪnsəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.65 in modern English

Syllables
tin-sel
IPA
/ˈtɪnsəl/
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A shining fabric used for ornamental purposes.

Obsolete; Uncountable

noun

A shining fabric used for ornamental purposes.

Obsolete; Uncountable

noun

Anything shining and gaudy; especially something superficially shiny and showy, or having a false lustre, and more pretty than valuable.

Uncountable

adj

Of fabric: ornamented by being woven with gold or silver thread, or overlaid with thin metal plates; brocaded.

Obsolete

adj

Glittering.

Obsolete

verb

To adorn (something) with tinsel.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English tinsel (“cloth containing gold or silver thread”) [and other forms], probably from Anglo-Norman tincel, tincelle, tencele, and then: * from Old French estincelle, estencele (“a spark”) (modern French étincelle), from Vulgar Latin *stincilla, a metathesis of Latin scintilla (“a glimmer; a spark”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₁y- (“to shimmer, shine”); and * from Old French estincelé, the past participle of estinceler, estenceler (“to produce sparks”) (modern French étinceler (“to sparkle, twinkle; (archaic) to produce sparks”)), from Vulgar Latin *stincillāre, a metathesis of Latin scintillāre, the present active infinitive of scintillō (“to scintillate, sparkle”), from scintilla (“a glimmer; a spark”) (see above) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). The English word is a doublet of scintilla, scintillate, and stencil. The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun; while the verb is derived from the noun.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *(s)ḱeh₁y-, tinsel, tincel, estincelle, *stincilla, scintilla

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈtɪnsəl/
  • British English: /ˈtɪns(ə)l/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce tinsel?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɪnsəl/.
What does tinsel mean?
A shining fabric used for ornamental purposes.
Where does tinsel come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce tinsel

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tinsel”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtɪnsəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tinsel”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “tinsel” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.