Pronounced: POP-luh-riz-uhm, noun
Notes: This word looks a lot like “popularism”, but it isn’t related
Yesterday’s word
The word chinoiserie is “a style in art (as in decoration) reflecting Chinese qualities or motifs; also, an object or decoration in this style”
First usage
Our word came into English in the late 1800s
Background / Comments
Our word came from the French word chinoiserie, which comes from chinois (Chinese). The first example of chinoiserie was a building King Louis XIV of France had built at Versailles. Such decorations were popular in the 1600s and 1700s; in the 1930s, there was a revival of the style.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 