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precious

   Also found in: Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
pre·cious  (prshs)
adj.
1. Of high cost or worth; valuable.
2. Highly esteemed; cherished.
3. Dear; beloved.
4. Affectedly dainty or overrefined: precious mannerisms.
5. Informal Thoroughgoing; unmitigated: a precious mess.
n.
One who is dear or beloved; a darling.
adv.
Used as an intensive: "He had precious little right to complain" James Agee.

[Middle English, from Old French precios, from Latin pretisus, from pretium, price; see per-5 in Indo-European roots.]

precious·ly adv.
precious·ness n.

precious
Adjective
1. very costly or valuable: precious jewellery
2. loved and treasured
3. very affected in speech, manners, or behaviour
4. Informal worthless: nothing is too good for his precious dog
Adverb
Informal very: there's precious little to do in this town [Latin pretiosus valuable]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.preciousprecious - characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for; "a cherished friend"; "children are precious"; "a treasured heirloom"; "so good to feel wanted"
loved - held dear; "his loved companion of many years"
2.precious - of high worth or cost; "diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds are precious stones"
valuable - having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange; "a valuable diamond"
3.preciousprecious - held in great esteem for admirable qualities especially of an intrinsic nature; "a valued friend"; "precious memories"
worthy - having worth or merit or value; being honorable or admirable; "a worthy fellow"; "a worthy cause"
4.precious - obviously contrived to charm; "an insufferably precious performance"; "a child with intolerably cute mannerisms"
artful - marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with cunning or craft; "the artful dodger"; "an artful choice of metaphors"
Adv.1.precious - extremely; "there is precious little time left"
intensifier, intensive - a modifier that has little meaning except to intensify the meaning it modifies; "`up' in `finished up' is an intensifier"; "`honestly' in `I honestly don't know' is an intensifier"

precious
adjective 2. loved, valued, favourite, prized, dear, dearest, treasured, darling, beloved, adored, cherished, fave (informal) idolized, worth your or its weight in gold
adjective 3. affected, artificial, fastidious, twee Brit. (informal) chichi, overrefined, overnice
Translations
Spanish precious [ˈprɛʃəs] adjprecioso (= treasured); querido (= stylized); afectado
adv (col): precious little/few → muy poco/pocos;
your precious dog (ironic) → tu querido perro

French precious [ˈprɛʃəs] adjprécieux/euse
adv (inf);
precious little or few → fort peu;
your precious dog (ironic) → ton chien chéri, ton chéri chien

German precious [ˈprɛʃəs] adjwertvoll, kostbar;
(pej) [person, writing] → geziert;
(ironic) (= damned); heiß geliebt, wundervoll
adv (inf);
precious little/few → herzlich wenig/wenige

Italian precious [ˈprɛʃəs] adjprezioso/a
adv (col): precious little/few → ben poco/pochi;
your precious dog (ironic) → il suo amatissimo cane

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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Moreover, as that of Heidelburgh was always replenished with the most excellent of the wines of the Rhenish valleys, so the tun of the whale contains by far the most precious of all his oily vintages; namely, the highly-prized spermaceti, in its absolutely pure, limpid, and odoriferous state.
No sooner said than done; but all his joy was turned to grief when he found that his neighbour had two rooms full of the precious metal.
They clothed her with heavenly garments: on her head they put a fine, well-wrought crown of gold, and in her pierced ears they hung ornaments of orichalc and precious gold, and adorned her with golden necklaces over her soft neck and snow-white breasts, jewels which the gold- filleted Hours wear themselves whenever they go to their father's house to join the lovely dances of the gods.
 
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