tchotchke

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tchotchke

/ˈt͡ʃɒt͡ʃkə/ UK
/ˈt͡ʃɑt͡ʃkə/ US
/-ki/ US

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Yiddish טשאַטשקע (tshatshke, “ornament; trinket; toy; (figurative) attractive girl or woman”), from a Slavic language and probably ultimately imitative of a baby’s utterances.

Slavic cognates

* Polish cacko (“toy; knick-knack, trinket; pretty thing”), from caca (“nice thing”), and czaczko (“(obsolete) toy; trinket; pretty thing”)

* Russian ца́цка (cácka, “(informal) knick-knack, trinket; (dated) toy”), from ца́ца (cáca, “toy; trinket; well-behaved child; nice person; conceited person”)

* Ukrainian ца́цка (cácka, “(dated) toy; ornament, trinket; conceited person; well-dressed person”), from ца́ца (cáca, “toy; well-behaved child; conceited person; attractive woman”)

noun tchotchkes · chachka · chatchka · chatchke · chotchke · tsatske

US, informal A small ornament of minor value; a knick-knack, a trinket. We're stuck with: 14 Provincial & Modern Kitchen chairs— […] 23 assorted Lamps and miscellaneous "Tchotchkes"! Help us unload.
Similar: bauble, novelty, bric-a-brac, fandangle, fangle, fizgig, folderol, gewgaw, kickshaw, knick-knack, mathom, tat
US, dated, figuratively, informal, in Jewish contexts An attractive girl or woman. My mother is still convinced that her little boy doesn't eat enough (I've gained 15 pounds the last six months), and that he doesn't get enough sleep (I average a good nine hours a night), […] She is always giving me advice, chiding me for the error of my ways, warning me not to drive too fast, and
Similar: bimbo, angel, babe, beauty, belle, betty, bit of crumpet, bomb, bombshell, cookie, cupcake, cutie

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MLA

"tchotchke." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tchotchke. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tchotchke. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tchotchke

Chicago

"tchotchke." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tchotchke.

BibTeX

@misc{tchotchke_2026,
  title = {tchotchke},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tchotchke},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}