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preciousadj.adv.n. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French precius. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman precius, pretius, pretious, Anglo-Norman and Old French precios, precious, pretios, Old French presieus, prechious, prechieus, Old French, Middle French precieus (Middle French precieux , French précieux ) (of the body and blood of Christ) venerable (end of the 11th cent.), held in high esteem (early 12th cent.), of great monetary value (c1135 in geme preciouse precious stone: see precious stone n.), showing excessive or affected refinement (1659), (of manners, language, clothing, etc.) very careful or refined (a1679), showing delicacy of workmanship or execution (1690) < classical Latin pretiōsus costly, expensive, valuable, of great non-material value, highly prized < pretium price n. + -ōsus -ous suffix. Compare Old Occitan precios (c1070), Catalan preciós (c1200), Spanish precioso (1207), Portuguese precioso (13th cent.), Italian prezioso (c1224). Compare precious stone n.With use as adverb compare earlier preciously adv. Compare also the following earlier examples, which appear to show a borrowing of the Middle English word into Middle Cornish as adverb in the sense ‘altogether’:?a1450 (?1350–75) Origo Mundi l. 418 in E. Norris Anc. Cornish Drama (1859) I. 32 Drog yw genef gruthyl den precyons ha haval thu'm fas.?a1450 (?1350–75) Origo Mundi l. 918 in E. Norris Anc. Cornish Drama (1859) I. 70 Drog yv genef gruthyl den precins haual thy'm certen. In precious blood n. at Compounds 2 after post-classical Latin pretiosus sanguis (Vetus Latina, Vulgate); compare Old French sanc precios (11th cent.; Middle French precieux sang , French précieux sang ). With Precious John n. at Compounds 2 compare post-classical Latin Preciosus Iohannes (compare quot. 1555 for Precious John n. at Compounds 2), apparently a folk-etymological alteration of presbyter Iohannes (see Prester John n.). A. adj. 1. the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > worth > [adjective] > specifically in non-material respects ?a1300 Sayings St. Bernard (Digby) in F. J. Furnivall (1901) ii. 759 (MED) Þou hauest, man, in þat foule hous A þing þat is wel precious [Laud A deoreworþe þing and precious]. c1390 G. Chaucer 893 Chastitee..is the moost precious lyf that is. c1440 (?a1400) 2 (MED) The precyous prayere of hys prys modyr Schelde vs fro schamesdede. a1450 (1969) l. 1555 Þat castel is a precyous place, Ful of vertu and of grace; Whoso leuyth þere hys lyuys space No synne schal hym schende. 1552 Will in 11 Mar. 1552/108 By whose deathe & precios bloud shedyng. 1578 T. Tymme tr. J. Calvin 169 The most pretious grace of God. 1644 in (1887) App. VI. 55 Thinking on that is more pratious. 1684 J. Stewart Let. in B. Cusack (1998) 220 I sell seay nomor at present bot desayrs yow & all to be seriows & mek Good ws of presios tiem. 1702 I. i. 4 Words of pretious esteem. 1750 M. Jones 96 Time's precious, and we must not lose it. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage I. iii. vi. 393 To make the most of the precious moments; and..to make out the time agreeably. 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato (ed. 2) III. 205 Justice, which is a treasure far more precious than gold. 1910 E. M. Forster xxvi. 221 Just where the river rounded the hill the sun caught it. Fairyland must lie above the bend, and its precious liquid was pouring towards them past Charles's bathing-shed. 1967 A. Djoleto iii. 35 The safety of the boys was more precious to me than my own welfare. 1988 S. Rosenberg vi. 81 War, danger at every step, sharpened the senses, made life more precious. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 323 By goddes precious herte and by his nayles And by the blood of Crist that is in hayles. ?c1565 (new ed.) sig. C.iv Hens or by gods precious I shall breake thy necke. ?1570 T. Ingelend sig. F.i By Goddes precious I wyll not unwysely suffre To do as I have done any longer. 1599 G. Chapman sig. G Gods precious my Lord, come you this way, your wife comes ranging with a troope of dames. 1601 J. Marston et al. ii. sig. D2v Gods pretious, I forgot to bring my Page. 1612 B. Jonson ii. iii. sig. E2v God's precious—What doe you meane? Goe in, good Lady. View more context for this quotation 1703 T. D'Urfey iv. ii. 57 Ods pretious, it shall be so. 1821 W. Scott I. iv. 86 Uds precious! Madam, what make you here out of bounds? 1860 A. C. Swinburne iv. iii. 119 I say thou art a knave, a side-stair thief—God's precious body! I am sick with anger. society > trade and finance > monetary value > [adjective] > of great value c1300 St. Brendan (Laud) 42 in C. Horstmann (1887) 221 Of suete preciouse stones þat briȝtte schynen and wide. a1325 (c1280) (Pepys 2344) (1927) 8 (MED) Of spykenard hit was ymad, þat wel precious þing is. c1400 (a1376) W. Langland (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. xi. 12 (MED) Draf were hem leuere Þanne al þe precious [v.r. preciousest] perrie þat in paradis wexiþ. a1425 J. Wyclif (1871) II. 114 Trewe oynement and preshous. c1449 R. Pecock (1860) 231 Better and costioser and precioser garnementis. a1500 Rule Minoresses in W. W. Seton (1914) 84 (MED) Þey schul usyn kerchiues honestli in one maner of kerchiues & of colleres, whoche schal be alle white & nat precious. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach ii. f. 108v The preciousest are the Cypresse, and the Cedar Tables. 1651 T. Hobbes iii. xxxv. 219 The Generalls pretious Jewel, or his Treasure. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis i, in tr. Virgil 228 And, fraught with precious Gifts, to bring the Boy Snatch'd from the Ruins of unhappy Troy. 1758 19 App. 618 These books were..precious..notwithstanding their torn and mouldy garb. 1796 W. Burke II. 131 Adorned with precious gems, plate, and jewels of immense value. a1817 J. Austen (1818) II. vi. 110 She seized, with an unsteady hand, the precious manuscript, for half a glance sufficed to ascertain written characters. View more context for this quotation 1876 D. Rock (new ed.) v. 39 At the end of the twelfth century there was brought to England from Greece, a sort of precious silk, named Imperial. 1943 M. Samuel tr. S. Asch i. xiii. 130 More precious than gold, rarer than the costliest stones, are the dried roots of spice plants. 1980 G. Swift (1983) 22 She liked fine, fragile, precious things, things which you couldn't use. the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > refinement > fastidiousness > [adjective] the world > action or operation > behaviour > affected behaviour or affectation > [adjective] > affecting delicacy society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > [adjective] > euphuistic or precious c1395 G. Chaucer 148 I nam nat precius; In wyfhode wol I vse myn instrument As frely as my makere hath it sent. c1395 G. Chaucer 1962 Lest that precious folk [v.r. honeste peple] be with me wrooth, How that he wroghte I dar nat to yow telle. c1450 tr. G. Deguileville (Cambr.) (1869) 25 I slepe nouht, ne j am nouht ydel ne j am not preciows [Fr. pereceuse] to do alwey my deveer after my wit and my powere. 1667 R. Flecknoe ii. v. 35 Elevate your stile, and speak a Language which none may understand but the Pretious Cabal,—that which they understand not they'l admire. 1712 R. Steele No. 306. ⁋7 An apparent Desire of Admiration,..a precious Behaviour in their general Conduct, are almost inseparable Accidents in Beauties. 1887 G. Saintsbury iv. 145 Elaborate embroidery of precious language. 1894 25 Aug. 252/3 The employment of ‘curious’ in a somewhat precious sense at least three times. 1960 D. MacDonald Masscult & Midcult in Fall 628 His first recognition..came from the English pre-Raphaelites, a decadent and precious group if ever there was one. 1990 29 May 19/2 It's a bit waxy, talking about acting. To explain minimizes it. It's so easy to seem precious. 4. colloquial. the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > very great or extreme > specifically of something bad or reprobated c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate (1934) ii. 445 (MED) A precious knave that castith hym neuer to thryve. ?c1565 (new ed.) sig. Dii Now walke, precious thief. ?1578 W. Patten 63 Heering & seeing so precioous adoo heer, at a place vnlookt for. 1612 B. Jonson v. iv. sig. M2 You are a precious fiend! View more context for this quotation 1663 A. Cowley v. ii. 57 Thou were wont to be a precious Knave, and a great Actor too. 1774 J. Burgoyne iii. 36 I suppose some interested creature, with a little beauty and more cunning, has laid hold of this precious fool of a nephew of mine. 1836 C. Darwin in (1887) I. 241 I find I am writing most precious nonsense. 1857 T. Hughes ii. vii. 362 It's hard enough to see one's way, a precious sight harder than I thought last night. 1892 Chamberlain in (1898) 26 Apr. 2/3 If the Liberals got into power what a precious mess they would make of foreign policy. 1924 G. B. Shaw St. Joan i, in (1931) 966 I shall feel like a precious fool. 1983 C. James 33 I shall look a precious fool if all other sources of income suddenly dry up and I have to sit down in front of the set again. a1625 J. Fletcher Mad Lover iii. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher (1647) sig. C2v/1 O y'ar a pretious Man; two daies in towne And neuer see your old friend? 1723 J. Williams ii. 37 That loves his Cock, Dogs and Horses, as well as he does his Father's Grave..he's a precious Fellow I warrant him. 1781 J. Wesley (1872) XIII. 298 Are not these precious instructers of youth? 1821 S. Beazley i. i. 2 Then sir, see how much of his precious time he spends with his dogs and his gun. 1871 May 26 If you don't want some of your men shot before their time, you and your precious officers had better keep this rabble in a little better order. 1935 N. Mitchison iv. 460 Nan thinks it's the effect of your precious Donald! 1985 T. Jones xxv. 180 What will all your precious friends think? 2005 (Nexis) 14 Aug. 13 When I dropped him at the station, he stayed there drooling over his precious engines! the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > eruption > [adjective] > pimple 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo i. f. 43 A poore old man, whose nose by some infirmitie was become meruellous great, deformed, ful of pimples, precious [Fr. moisy], & monstrous. B. adv. Modifying an adjective or adverb. society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [adverb] > involving great expense c1500 (a1400) (Ashm.) (1969) App. 278 (MED) [a1500 Lamb. The serkell vpon hir moolde] Wer presyows endentyd wyth gold. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. iii. 40 Or when he doom'd this Beautie to a graue, Found it too precious Princely, for a graue. View more context for this quotation the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > very the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [adjective] > small in number 1775 J. Sewall 4 We have but precious little cyder this year. 1839 A. Gray (1893) I. 268 While on the Continent I have received precious few letters. 1841 C. Dickens i. xx. 203 Kit..was ‘precious raw’ or ‘precious deep’. 1886 J. Chamberlain 26 Aug. Precious few of them have declared in favour of the bill before their constituents. 1939 18 Dec. 21/3 Since precious little German trade can be sailed, submarined or flown overseas, writing about ‘new possibilities’..sounded like official whistling in the dark. 1985 W. Sheed xi. 250 Although he was far too sophisticated to be a biblical fundamentalist, he had argued himself precious close to it with the New Testament. 2005 (Nexis) 10 Oct. 7 Parents in outer Sydney are paying as little as $30 a day for childcare while their inner-city counterparts fork out three times that much for precious few places. C. n.the mind > emotion > love > loved one > [noun] 1602 J. Marston iii. sig. F3 Nay, pretious, If youle be peeuish, by this light, Ile sweare, Thou rail'dst vpon thy loue. 1706 S. Centlivre ii. i. 25 With all my Heart, my Jewel, my Precious. a1753 P. Drake (1755) II. iii. 113 In all that time I never saw my precious but at Mrs. Jones's. 1825 G. Crabbe Let. 6 Nov. in (1985) ii. 320 I shall think it no great Matter if my little precious forgets me for we shall soon renew our Friendship I doubt not. 1861 E. D. Cook iii Well, my precious, and how are you? 1914 E. Sheldon (new ed.) iii. 220 My dearest—my precious—I've never felt this way in all my life before. 1956 H. Kurnitz ii. 18 ‘You louse,’ said Zorn amiably. ‘You sold South Sea Bubble right under my nose.’ ‘Precious, you turned it down.’ 1990 W. Perriam (1991) ix. 227 Hush now, precious. What's the trouble? Teething, are we? Compounds C1. Parasynthetic. 1597 W. Shakespeare ii. ii. 8 With balefull weeds, and precious iuyced flowers. View more context for this quotation 1989 (Nexis) 2 Sept. There should be plenty of baleful weeds this autumn, but do be wary of one precious juiced flower—couch rhizomes. 1607 T. Tomkis iii. vi There was an old..precious-nosed..slave. C2. the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > the Son or Christ > [noun] > blood, wounds, or sweat of c1384 (Royal) 1 Pet. i. 19 Not bi corruptible gold or siluer ȝe ben bouȝt..but bi the precious blood of..Crist Jhesu. a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) xx. 1 He spend noght his preciouse blode in vayn on vs. 1626 Bp. J. Hall 39 That invaluablie precious blood of the Sonne of God. 1722 D. Defoe 120 Spare us good Lord, spare Thy people whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious Blood. 1862 Wiseman in 275 The Church..coagmented and cemented by the precious Blood. 1912 XIII. 512/2 Priests who can receive the faithful into the Confraternity of the Precious Blood. 1997 Summer 51/1 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as the summit and center of Christian life, orients all forms of devotion to their pristine source in the Precious Blood. c1450 ( Nightingale (Calig.) 404 in O. Glauning (1900) 15 The holy gost sent from the see of glory His precious body to vs in memory. 1539 T. Paynell tr. St. Cyprian sig. Cv This bread we aske dayly to be gyuen vs, leste we, that be in Christe, and receyue dayly his precious body,..shulde be prohybited from that heuenly breadde. 1603 J. C. sig. C4v Vnto the Monument early shee did hast, Where they his Precious Body did intier. a1701 H. Maundrell (1703) 73 Where the pretious Body of our Lord was anointed. 1855 J. H. Ingraham xxxviii. 444 He showed us that He himself was the High Priest; his own precious body was the victim, which He himself offered up to appease the wrath of Jehovah against transgressions. 1925 10 July 14/4 Souls were nourished with his most precious Body and Blood. 2005 (Nexis) 20 Aug. b3 I open the small pyx containing communion,..and raise what appears to be bread but is actually the precious body of Christ. the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection] 1576 G. Gascoigne sig. H.iiiiv When roysters ruffle not aboue their rule, Nor colour crafte, by swearing precious coles. 1599 G. Chapman sig. D3 Gods precious coles tis he. 1606 in T. Heywood i. sig. D2v Precious cole, here's a knaue round with me. 1638 W. Rowley iv. sig. G4v Hence you Whore-master knave, Gods my passion, got a wench with childe..: Precious coales, you are a fine youth indeed. 1899 S. H. Burchell i. x. 189 ‘Precious coals!’ exclaimed Knuckledown nervously, ‘there comes my wife! Lord save me from her! What shall I do? I shall be found, like a grain of corn by a hen!’ the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Diploblastica > phylum Coelenterata > [noun] > class Anthozoa Actinozoa > order Zoantharia > member of suborder Antipatharia 1863 J. D. Dana iii. i. 163 The Precious Coral used in jewelry comes from the shores of Sicily and Southern Italy, and belongs to this Alcyonoid division. It is related to the Gorgonias, but the axis is red and stony (calcareous) instead of being horny, and this stony axis is the coral so highly esteemed. 1906 S. J. Hickson in I. xiii. 352 The ‘precious coral’ occurs in the Mediterranean. 1987 R. D. Barnes (ed. 5) v. 134/2 The gorgonian, or horny, corals..include the whip corals, sea feathers, sea fans, and precious red coral. 1804 R. Jameson I. 64 Garnet. Werner divides this species into two subspecies, the precious garnet, and common garnet. 1892 E. W. Streeter (ed. 5) 286 The Almandine, or Precious Garnet. 1957 H. S. Zim & P. R. Shaffer 104 Pyrope is sometimes called precious garnet, though it is mined in large quantities for garnet paper. 1966 33 72 All rubies and precious garnets are red. society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > king > [noun] > alleged oriental or Ethiopian king 1555 R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Pref. sig. aiij Preciosus Iohannes, otherwyse cauled Presbyter Iohannes, Emperour of many Chrystian nations in Ethiope.] 1634 T. Herbert 130 The great Christian of Æthiopia, vulgarly cald Prester, Precious, or Priest-Iohn. 1705 ii. vi. 500 His Ambassador being sent into Portugal, called him Precious John, instead of Preter Gianni. 1870 2 103 Tzaga Zabus converts Presbyter Johannes into Pretiosus Johannes (Precious John, or John possessing precious things)—a name still to be found on old maps of Abyssinia. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > precious metal > [noun] 1629 J. Beaumont 25 In Brakenburies head, which should be crown'd With precious Metals, and with Bayes adorn'd. 1776 A. Smith I. i. iv. 30 In the precious metals..even the business of weighing, with proper exactness, requires at least very accurate weights and scales. 1878 F. A. Walker x. 195 Whether the loss of the precious metal in the coin results from an external abrasion..or through the clipping or sweating of the coin. 1947 22 Mar. 22 (advt.) Inconel is a beautiful, precious-metal-like alloy. 2004 2 Aug. 22/2 Many..regard the forests as just another natural resource much like oil, gas and precious metals. 1819 (Royal Soc.) 109 20 (table) Precious opal. 1893 Feb. 39/3 Precious opal has been found near Whelan, in Washington. 1986 G. Clark (BNC) 72 This is most apparent in the precious opal which is capable of displaying a veritable kaleidoscope of colours. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). <  adj.adv.n.?a1300 |
