trinket

Etymology

Old English trenket (“a sort of knife”), hence, probably, a toy knife worn as an ornament; probably from an Old French dialectal form of trenchier (“to cut”). Compare trench.

noun

1. A small showy ornament or piece of jewelry
   That little trinket around her neck must have cost a bundle.
2. A thing of little value; a trifle; a toy.
   It's only a little trinket, but it reminds her of him.
   There is no art about the Eiffel Tower. In no way can it be said to have contributed to the real beauty of the Exhibition. Men flocked to see it and ascended it as it was a novelty and of unique dimensions. It was the toy of the Exhibition. So long as we are children we are attracted by toys, and the Tower was a good demonstration of the fact that we are all children attracted by trinkets. That may be claimed to be the purpose served by the Eiffel Tower. 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xxiii
3. (nautical) A three-cornered sail formerly carried on a ship's foremast, probably on a lateen yard.
4. (obsolete) A knife; a cutting tool.

verb

1. (obsolete) To give trinkets; to court favour.
   On June 26 the party of sun and wind - weathered visitors from the heart of the Texas plains , dressed in their blankets and buckskins , befeathered and trinketed , arrived at the capital city's Globe Hotel and took up residence there 1991, Stan Hoig, Jesse Chisholm, Ambassador of the Plains