Noun

(trophies)

.

An object, usually in the form of a statuette, cup, or shield, awarded for success in a competition or to mark a special achievement.

He won the trophy in a running competition.

An object taken as a prize by a hunter or conqueror, especially one that is displayed.

* Dryden

Around the posts hung helmets, darts, and spears, / And captive chariots, axes, shields, and bars, / And broken beaks of ships, the trophies of their wars.

The set of antlers which hung on the wall was his prized trophy .

Any emblem of success; a status symbol.

His trophies included his second wife, his successful children, the third and fourth homes in Palm Beach and Malibu, his three yachts (for the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean), his jet, and his mistresses.

(criminology, by extension) An object taken by a serial killer or rapist as a memento of the crime.

* 1994 , Philip Jenkins, Using Murder: The Social Construction of Serial Homicide [http://books.google.com/books?id=nhXmk3Tm-SQC], ISBN 0202305252, page 117:

The souvenirs which many killers retain of their victims are often described as trophies , and Norman Bates's taxidermic interests derived from the real-life Ed Gein.

* 2001 , R. Michael Gordon, Alias Jack the Ripper: Beyond the Usual Whitechapel Suspects [http://books.google.com/books?id=n5PWnVtQs4MC], ISBN 0786408987, page 82:

A trophy from this murder would have been of great importance.

* 2004 , Ronald F. Becker, Criminal Investigation [http://books.google.com/books?id=YDGaGSdjc6kC], ISBN 0763731684, page 168:

The offender is also likely to mentally relive his killings, often with the help of souvenirs or trophies , such as a bracelet or a body part taken from the victim.

Noun

(en noun)

The act of adorning, embellishing, or honoring; ornamentation.

That which adorns, enriches, or beautifies; something added by way of embellishment; ornament.

*, chapter=12

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs, […], and all these articles […] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished.}}

* 1994 , (Stephen Fry), (The Hippopotamus) Chapter 2

At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. Disgusted with himself at such cowardice, he spat a needle from his mouth, stepped back from the tree and listened. There were no sounds of any movement upstairs: no shouts, no sleepy grumbles, only a gentle tinkle from the decorations as the tree had recovered from the collision.

Specifically, any mark of honor to be worn upon the person, as a medal, cross, or ribbon of an order of knighthood, bestowed for services in war, great achievements in literature, art, etc.