precious
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English precious, from Old French precios (“valuable, costly, precious, beloved, also affected, finical”), from Latin pretiosus (“of great value, costly, dear, precious”), from pretium (“value, price”); see price.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Adjective
precious (comparative more precious, superlative most precious)
- 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.
- regarded with love or tenderness.
- My precious daughter is to marry
- (pejorative) treated with too much reverence.
- He spent hours painting the eyes of the portrait, which his fellow artists regarded as a bit precious.
- (pejorative) contrived to be cute or charming
[edit] Synonyms
- (contrived to charm): saccharine, syrupy, twee
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
of high value or worth
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[edit] Noun
precious (uncountable)
- 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)
- used as an intensifier
- There is precious little we can do.
[edit] Translations
intensifier — see very (adverb)
[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
