Tawdry

This word has a fascinating history.  Since 1676 century it has meant showy, cheap and gaudy, however, before this it had a different meaning.  It is a shortened form of tawdry lace.  Tawdry is a corruption of Saint Audrey, and tawdry lace was a lace necklace or ribbon sold at annual St. Audrey fairs during the Middle Ages.  In one of Shakespeare's plays A Winter's Tale (c.1610), a shepherdess called Mopsa says "Come, you promised me a tawdry lace and a pair of sweet gloves" (Act IV, Scene 3).

In the Middle Ages, tawdry lace necklaces were believed to have healing powers, to cure illnesses of the throat and neck.  This was derived from the legend of Saint Audrey (also known as Saint Ethelreda), who died in the seventh century from plague.  Before her death, a doctor removed a tumour from her neck, which the Audrey believed was divine punishment for her youthful fondness for pretty and expensive necklaces.  However, when her body was exhumed seventeen years later it was not only uncorrupted (a common sign of saintliness), but the wound from her neck surgery had healed.  Thus the myth of the tawdry necklace was born.

When the Reformation removed all images of saints and attempted to eradicate all belief in their legends, the meaning of tawdry lace changed from being a miraculous amulet to the current meaning of showy and gaudy.

Tawdry is a good example of how a word's meaning can be affected by changes in society.  In this case, religious reformation altered tawdry's meaning from a positive one requiring faith in the saint's\legend to something negative and perjorative.

Sources:
Bridgman, Peter (2004) Shakespeare and St. Ethelreda's, Ely Place [online], available from www.stethelreda,com/pamphlet.doc (accessed 9 June 2011)
Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (1988), Chambers


Juliana