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Tawdry

3 stages from Old English to English.

Today it means showy but cheap and of poor quality

Where does the word "tawdry" come from? It comes from Old English Æþelþryþ, passing through Middle English before entering English (1670s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
Æþelþryþ
Old English · 673
"a saint's name"
the princess-abbess who founded Ely Abbey in 673; Bede says she died of a neck tumour she took as punishment for wearing necklaces in her youth
2
Stage 2 of 3
Seynt Audrey
Middle English · 1400s
"St Audrey"
Norman-era Audrey replaced the Old English name; at Ely's St Audrey's fair, silk neck-laces called 'St Audrey's lace' were sold in her memory
3
Stage 3 of 3
tawdry
English · 1670s
"cheap and showy"
'tawdry lace' ran together from 'St Audrey', and the cheap fair-goods gave the word its sense of showy but worthless
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Tawdry’s story begins in Old English: Æþelþryþ meant “a saint's name.” The princess-abbess who founded Ely Abbey in 673; Bede says she died of a neck tumour she took as punishment for wearing necklaces in her youth. By 1400s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as Seynt Audrey. Norman-era Audrey replaced the Old English name; at Ely's St Audrey's fair, silk neck-laces called 'St Audrey's lace' were sold in her memory. It reached English by 1670s as tawdry. 'tawdry lace' ran together from 'St Audrey', and the cheap fair-goods gave the word its sense of showy but worthless. Today, tawdry means showy but cheap and of poor quality.