kitsch
UK[kɪtʃ]US[kɪtʃ]
n
Art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.
Etymology
The word 'kitsch' entered English in the 1920s as a direct loan from the German term of the same spelling and meaning. Its origins in German are uncertain but are often theorized to derive from the verb 'kitschen', meaning 'to smear' or 'to slap together cheaply'. Another plausible theory links it to the English word 'sketch', via the German dialect word 'kitschen' (to sketch), suggesting cheap, hastily made artistic works. The term captures the concept of art that is gaudy, sentimental, and mass-produced, appealing to popular rather than highbrow taste, and its adoption into English reflects a critical need to categorize this specific aesthetic phenomenon.
Analysis
The word is a simplex loanword from German. It does not contain separable morphemes within its modern English spelling.
Examples
The souvenir shop was filled with cheap statues and other kitsch.
He has a fondness for 1950s Americana that some might call kitsch.
The film's style deliberately walks the line between heartfelt drama and kitsch.