"precious" in seven languages
Meaningprecious
Spanish
precioso
/pɾeˈθjoso/
learned
In Spain usually 'lovely, gorgeous': ¡qué vestido tan precioso!
French
précieux
/pʁesjø/
learned
fem.: précieuse
Italian
prezioso
/pretˈtsjoso/
learned
Portuguese
precioso
/pɾesiˈozu/
learned
Romanian
prețios
/preˈtsjos/
learned
Catalan
preciós
/pɾəsiˈos/
learned
English
precious
/ˈpɹɛʃəs/
from Latin/French · Old French precios, from Latin PRETIŌSUS
English → ItalianpreciouspreziosoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
PRETIŌSUM‘costly (PRETIUM 'price')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
PRETIUM 'price' is the root: precious things cost a lot. Spanish precioso has drifted to 'beautiful' in everyday speech.
English relatives: price, prize, appreciate
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLos diamantes son piedras preciosas.
- frLes diamants sont des pierres précieuses.
- itI diamanti sono pietre preziose.
- ptOs diamantes são pedras preciosas.
- roDiamantele sunt pietre prețioase.
- caEls diamants són pedres precioses.
- enDiamonds are precious stones.
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