précieux

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pʁe.sjø/^[1]

Forms

précieux (feminine précieuse, masculine plural précieux, feminine plural précieuses)^[1] Old French precïus (about 1050), precios, precieus (about 1175), précieux, pre- in the Académie of 1694 and 1718, pré- from 1740.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin pretiōsus (“valuable, costly”),^[4][2][5][6] a derivative of Latin pretium (“price, value”) (see prix); the ending was adapted to the French suffix.^[2][7] Compare Old Occitan precios, Spanish precioso and Italian prezioso.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) has sane precïus, the precious blood of Christ, with the religious sense “venerable”;^[4][2] the précieux sang was still a term of Catholic theology in 1680 (Richelet).^[4]

Semantic evolution

In the first half of the 12th century it already meant “dear, highly valued” (Philippe de Thaon, 1121–1134) and “of great price” (Wace, 1135, geme preciouse), whence pierre précieuse; of a person it meant “worthy of respect, dear” (1145) and later “very useful” (Oresme, about 1370).^[4][2]

Old French already used precieuse for a prude woman (1280), but the modern noun dates from 1654: a précieuse was a woman of refined feelings who adopted a new way of speaking and living, after the circle of the Hôtel de Rambouillet.^[4][2][5] Molière's Les Précieuses ridicules (1659) gave the adjective the sense “affected, over-refined”, and, from 1663 the noun became pejorative, La Fontaine used the masculine in 1659.^[4][2] In the decorative arts précieux described delicately perfect work (meubles précieux, 1690), and literary history has used le genre précieux since 1875.^[4][2] The derivative préciosité dates from 1664 (an earlier one about 1300).^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Sane precïus in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[4]
• 1121–1134 – “Dear”, in Philippe de Thaon.^[4]
• 1135 – Geme preciouse in Wace.^[4]
• c. 1370 – “Very useful”, in Oresme.^[4]
• 1280 – Precieuse “prude”.^[4]
• 1654 – Une précieuse.^[4]
• 1659 – Les Précieuses ridicules.^[4]
• 1664 – Préciosité.^[5]
• 1690 – Meubles précieux.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Precious, valuable: pierres précieuses, métaux précieux, bois précieux.^[9][3]
2. Highly valued, dear: un temps précieux, un ami précieux.^[9][8]
3. Very useful: une aide précieuse.^[4][10]
4. Affected, mannered: un style précieux.^[9][3]
5. (literature) Of the 17th-century précieuses.^[3][4]

Noun

1. (feminine, history) A précieuse, (by extension) an affected person.^[9][4]

Word family

• préciosité
• préciosité
• précieusement

Related words

• prix
• priser
• Latin pretiōsus

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 370a
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)