precious

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

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Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Adjective 1.3.1 Related terms 1.3.2 Translations 1.4 Noun 1.5 Adverb 1.5.1 Translations 1.6 External links

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

< Middle English precious < Old French precios (“‘valuable, costly, precious, beloved, also affected, finical’”) < Latin pretiosus (“‘of great value, costly, dear, precious’”) < pretium (“‘value, price’”); see price.

[edit] Pronunciation

•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

• Rhymes: -ɛʃəs

[edit] Adjective

precious (comparative more precious, superlative most precious)

1. of high value or worth, or seemingly regarded as such
   • The crown had many precious gemstones
   • This building work needs site access, and tell the city council that I don't care about a few lorry tyre ruts across their precious grass verge.
2. regarded with love or tenderness.
   • My precious daughter is to marry
3. treated with too much reverence.
   • He spent hours painting the eyes of the portrait, which his fellow artists regarded as a bit precious.

[edit] Related terms

• appraise
• appreciate
• depreciate
• praise
• price

[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

precious (uncountable)

1. someone (or something) who is loved; a darling
   • "It isn't fair, my precious to ask us what it's got in its nasty pockets" - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

[edit] Adverb

precious (not comparable)

1. used as an intensifier

   There is precious little we can do.

[edit] Translations

[edit] External links

• precious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• precious in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911