Tawdry
In the seventh century, Queen Etheldrida of Northumbria developed a throat tumor, which she regarded as divine punishment for her life of extravagance. Before her death, she founded a convent in Ely and was later canonized St. Audrey. During the Middle Ages, St. Audrey's fairs were held in Ely, where "neck-lace" called Seynt Audrie lace was sold. By the seventeenth century, the quality of these articles had declined dramatically, and the word tawdry, which has come to mean "gaudy but without value," is all that remains of Audrey's memory.
-- Jeffrey Kacirk
(in Forgotten English, A 366-Day Calendar of Vanishing Vocabulary for 2000)
