jewellery
English
Etymology
From Middle English juelrye, from Old French juelerye, equivalent to jewel + -ery.
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) enPR: jo͞oʹ(ə)lrē IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒuː(ə)lɹi/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
- (US also) enPR: jo͝oʹ(ə)lrē IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒʊ(ə)lɹi/[1]
- (nonstandard) enPR: jo͞oʹ(ə)lərē IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒuː(ə)ləɹi/ (this pronunciation gives rise to the Cockney rhyming slang tomfoolery)
Noun
jewellery (usually uncountable, plural jewelleries)
- Collectively, personal ornamentation such as rings, necklaces, brooches and bracelets, made of precious metals and sometimes set with gemstones.
- Synonyms: bling, bling-bling, (Cockney rhyming slang) tom, (Cockney rhyming slang) tomfoolery
- She had more jewellery ornamented about her than any three ladies needed.
- 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Fate of the Artemis:
- “[…] Captain Markam had been found lying half-insensible, gagged and bound, on the floor of the sitting-room, his hands and feet tightly pinioned, and a woollen comforter wound closely round his mouth and neck ; whilst Mrs. Markham's jewel-case, containing valuable jewellery and the secret plans of Port Arthur, had disappeared. […]”
- (oil industry, informal) Any tools, instruments, devices, etc., placed within a drill pipe.
- 2005, Paul Carter, Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, page 44:
- The rig simply retrieves the old pipe and runs a new pipe back in the hole (the completion string). Any special items on the string other than the pipe itself are referred to as "jewellery". These can be any number of things, from down-hole motors to mandrels and radioactive sources for survey purposes.
Synonyms
- see also Thesaurus:jewelry
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
personal ornamentation
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