Showy or gaudy decoration; cheap or tasteless ornamentation that is intended to impress but lacks real elegance or quality.
From 'gaudy' (excessively bright or showy) derived from Latin 'gaudium' (joy), plus the suffix '-ery.' The word emerged in English to criticize overly ornate decoration.
The irony of 'gaudery' is that it comes from the Latin word for 'joy,' but the English used it as an insult—showing how the same thing (bright colors) could mean celebration to Romans but bad taste to Victorian English speakers.
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