Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
os·ten·ta·tion
\\ˌäs-tən-ˈtā-shən\\ noun ETYMOLOGY Middle English ostentacion, from Middle French, from Latin ostentation-, ostentatio, from ostentare to display, frequentative of ostendere
DATE 15th century
1. excessive display : pretentiousness
2. archaic : an act of displaying
ostentation
mid-15c., from M.Fr. ostentation (1366), from L. ostentationem (nom. ostentatio) "vain display," from ostentatus, pp. of ostentare "to display," freq. of ostendere (see ostensible).
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7
ostentation
os·ten·ta·tion / 7Csten5teiFn; NAmE 7B:s- / noun [U]
(disapproving) an exaggerated display of wealth, knowledge or skill that is made in order to impress people
(对财富、知识、技能的)炫耀,卖弄,夸示
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
os·ten·ta·tion
\ˌä]stən.ˈtāshən
sometimes ˌȯ]
or ]ˌsten-\
noun
(
-s)
Etymology: Middle English
ostentacioun, from Middle French
ostentation, from Latin
ostentation-, ostentatio, from
ostentatus (past participle of
ostentare to display ostentatiously) +
-ion-, -io -ion
1.
a. : the act of making an ambitious display
: vain and unnecessary show especially for the purpose of attracting attention, admiration, or envy
: pretentiousness
< a woman brought up in the traditions of a modesty so proud that it scorns ostentation — Arnold Bennett >
b. : overly elaborate embellishment especially in art
: floridity
< architecture … characterized by ostentation and ornamental frills of the Victorian era — American Guide Series: Texas >
< stepped over the … boundary which divides wealth from ostentation, eloquence from pedantry, art from technique — Gilbert Highet >
< interpret the inmost thoughts of the composer, and to reproduce them without sentimentality and ostentation — A.E.Wier >2. archaic : the act of exhibiting or showing
: display
< maintain a mourning ostentation — Shakespeare >