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prezioso

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word prezioso

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1224, Francis of Assisi
Borrowed from
Latin pretiosus
Ultimate origin
Latin pretium
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pretiosus
Italian prezioso

Pronunciation

  • /pretˈt͡sjo.zo/, /pretˈt͡sjo.so/[1]

Forms

prezioso (feminine preziosa, masculine plural preziosi, feminine plural preziose, superlative preziosissimo)[1] Old forms include pretioso, precioso, presioso and pregioso, the last influenced by pregio.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin pretiōsus (“costly, of great value”), from pretium (“price, value”).[2][5][6][1] The Latin adjective is formed with the suffix -ōsus.[1] Its counterparts are French précieux and Spanish precioso, and the Italian noun of the same root is prezzo.[5]

Sabatini and DEI trace the sense “affected, over-refined” to French précieux, used of the 17th-century précieuses.[7][8] De Vaan derives the Latin noun from a Proto-Italic noun meaning “exchange value”, built on a preposition Proto-Indo-European *preti (“against”).[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record, in the form pretioso, is in the Canticle of the Creatures of Francis of Assisi, about 1224, with the sense “of great value”.[2][6] The form prezioso is in Giacomo da Lentini before 1250, who writes that every jewel that is rarer is held more preziosa.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word described costly things, precious stones and fabrics, and by extension whatever is valued for its rarity or usefulness.[3][10] Boccaccio has preziose pietre, precious stones, and the phrase metallo prezioso for gold, silver and platinum is old.[10]

The sense “affected, overrefined, hard to get” is recorded in 1713, and the noun preziosi, “jewels, valuables”, in 1922.[2] DEI records a noun use for the French poets of the 17th century, and Croce used preziosismo for that movement in 1910 and for affected refinement in general in 1936.[8][2] In familiar language fare il prezioso is said of someone who makes himself scarce.[6][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1224 – Francis of Assisi uses pretioso in the Canticle of the Creatures.[2]
  • Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini has the form prezioso.[2]
  • 1305–1306 – Preziositade “preciousness” appears in Giordano da Pisa.[2]
  • 1713 – The sense “affected, over-refined” is first recorded.[2]
  • 1910 – Croce uses preziosismo for the French literary movement.[2]
  • 1922 – The noun preziosi “jewels” is first recorded in Zingarelli's dictionary.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. precious, of high price or value: un anello prezioso, metalli preziosi.[6][11][7]
  2. Valuable because rare, important or useful: Ogni goccia d'acqua è preziosa nel deserto.[6][11][12]
  3. (figurative) Of great moral, practical or emotional worth: Il tuo consiglio mi è stato prezioso.[6][11][7]
  4. Of great cultural, historical or scientific importance: un codice prezioso.[6][4]
  5. (figurative) Of style, refined or affected, studied: versi preziosi.[6][11][12]
  6. (colloquial) Of a person, who makes himself scarce or hard to get: farsi prezioso.[6][11][4]

Noun

  1. (chiefly plural) A jewel, a valuable object: una cassaforte piena di preziosi.[6][11][4]
  2. (colloquial) A person who makes himself scarce: fare il prezioso.[7][12]
  3. (literature) A follower of 17th-century French préciosité.[7][13]

Word family

  • preziosità
  • preziosismo
  • preziosamente
  • impreziosire
  • semiprezioso

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include pietra preziosa (precious stone), metallo prezioso (precious metal) and, in Catholic devotion, Preziosissimo Sangue (the Most Precious Blood).[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 319
  4. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3077
  9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  10. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  11. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Prezioso.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/prezioso. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·