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precious

Pronunciation: /ˈpɹɛʃ.əs/

The English word “precious” has 10 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Of high value or worth.
  2. Regarded with love or tenderness.
  3. Treated with too much reverence.
  4. Excessively complicated.
  5. Extremely protective or strict (about something).
  6. Blasted; damned.
  7. Contrived to be cute or charming.
  8. Thorough; utter.

noun

  1. Someone (or something) who is loved; a darling.

adverb

  1. Very; an intensifier.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English precious, borrowed from Old French precios (“valuable, costly, precious, beloved, also affected, finical”), from Latin pretiōsus (“of great value, costly, dear, precious”), from pretium (“value, price”); see price.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.