Etymology

kitsch

K5I1T1S1C3H4

Today it means: Art, decorative objects, and other forms of representation of questionable artistic or aesthetic value; a representation that is excessively sentimental, overdone, or vulgar. Full definition →

German Kitsch
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The story

  1. German · borrowed fromKitsch
  2. English todaykitsch

From German Kitsch, from dialectal kitschen (“to coat, to smear”); the word and concept were popularized in the 1930s by several critics who contrasted it with avant-garde art.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.