pretty

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈprɪt.i/, US /ˈprɪt̬.i/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English prety (also praty),^[2][3] inherited from Old English prættig (“cunning, crafty, skilful”),^[4][5][3] from prætt (“a trick, wile”) and the suffix that became -y,^[5][6] from Proto-Germanic *pratt-, a word of unknown origin.^[4][7] The OED notes several obscure points in the link between the Old and Middle English words, which is unrecorded in the 13th and 14th centuries except in surnames, but they are generally taken to be the same.^[4] Its relatives include Old Norse prettr (“a trick”) and Dutch pret (“fun, pleasure”), with prettig (“pleasant”).^[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cunning, skilful, artful: West Saxon prættig, about 1000.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The meaning moved from “cunning, crafty” to “clever, skilful”, then to “brave” and “admirable, pleasing”, and finally to “attractive” in the 15th century,^[9][10] a development like that of nice, fine and cunning.^[5][4] Barnhart records praty “manly, gallant” probably before 1400, “clever” about 1405, and “handsome, attractive” probably before 1410.^[5] “Beautiful in a slight or dainty way” dates from the mid-15th century.^[4][11] When Pepys called a doctor “a very pretty man” in 1660 he meant a fine fellow.^[9] Ironic use, as in a pretty mess, is from the 1530s.^[4] “Considerable” developed in the 15th century^[11] and is now heard mostly in a pretty penny.^[9] The adverb “fairly, moderately” is from 1565, in Cooper's Thesaurus,^[5][2] and pretty much from the 1660s.^[4] The noun is recorded in 1736 of things and in 1773 of people.^[4][5] Prettify is from 1850,^[5] and sitting pretty is American, from 1915.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – Old English prættig, cunning.^[5]
• before 1400 – manly, gallant.^[5]
• c. 1405 – clever.^[5]
• before 1410 – attractive.^[5]
• 1530s – ironic use.^[4]
• 1565 – adverb, fairly.^[5][2]
• 1660s – pretty much.^[4]
• 1736 – noun, a pretty thing.^[4]
• 1850 – prettify.^[5]
• 1915 – sitting pretty.^[9]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Pleasing or attractive in a delicate or graceful way.
2. Clever, adroit.
3. (ironic) Very bad: a pretty mess.
4. Attractive on the surface but lacking substance.
5. Considerable in size: a pretty penny.

Adverb

1. To a fair degree; moderately.
2. In a pretty manner.

Noun

1. A pretty person or thing.
2. (plural) Dainty clothing, especially lingerie.

Verb

1. To make pretty, often with up.

Word family

• prettily
• prettiness
• prettyish
• unpretty
• none-so-pretty
• prettify
• purdy
• PDQ

Related words

• nice
• fine
• cunning

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b c d e Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press