Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Tinsel

Tinsel , noun

[French étincelle a spark, Old French estincelle, Latin scintilla. Compare Scintillate, Stencil.]

1.
A shining material used for ornamental purposes; especially, a very thin, gauzelike cloth with much gold or silver woven into it; also, very thin metal overlaid with a thin coating of gold or silver, brass foil, or the like.
Who can discern the tinsel from the gold? — Dryden
2.
Something shining and gaudy; something superficially shining and showy, or having a false luster, and more gay than valuable.
O happy peasant! O unhappy bard! His the mere tinsel, hers the rich reward. — Cowper

Tinsel , adjective

Showy to excess; gaudy; specious; superficial.
Tinsel trappings. — Milton

Tinsel , transitive verb

To adorn with tinsel; to deck out with cheap but showy ornaments; to make gaudy.
She, tinseled o'er in robes of varying hues. — Pope