pre·cious

[presh-uhs]
adjective
1.
of high price or great value; very valuable or costly: precious metals.
2.
highly esteemed for some spiritual, nonmaterial, or moral quality: precious memories.
3.
dear; beloved: a precious child.
4.
affectedly or excessively delicate, refined, or nice: precious manners.
5.
flagrant; gross: a precious fool.
noun
6.
a dearly beloved person; darling.
00:10
Precious is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
adverb
7.
extremely; very: She wastes precious little time.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English preciose (< Old French precios) < Latin pretiōsus costly, valuable, equivalent to preti(um) price, value + -ōsus -ous

pre·cious·ly, adverb
pre·cious·ness, noun
non·pre·cious, adjective
non·pre·cious·ly, adverb
non·pre·cious·ness, noun
un·pre·cious, adjective
un·pre·cious·ly, adverb
un·pre·cious·ness, noun


1. See valuable. 3. darling, cherished.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
precious (ˈprɛʃəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  beloved; dear; cherished
2.  very costly or valuable
3.  held in high esteem, esp in moral or spiritual matters
4.  very fastidious or affected, as in speech, manners, etc
5.  informal worthless: you and your precious ideas!
 
adv
6.  informal (intensifier): there's precious little left
 
[C13: from Old French precios, from Latin pretiōsus valuable, from pretium price, value]
 
'preciously
 
adv
 
'preciousness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

precious
late 13c., from O.Fr. precios (11c., Fr. précieux), from L. pretiosus "costly, valuable," from pretium "value, worth, price" (see price). Meaning "over-refined" first recorded c.1395. Precieuse "a woman aiming at refined delicacy of language and taste" (1727) is from
Fr. précieuse, noun use of fem. of précieux, especially as lampooned in Molière's comedy "Les Précieuses ridicules" (1659).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
In addition, they will have to be cheaper: requiring the precious metal
  platinum would make them expensive.
We took a look at three of our favorite bag makers to see which model was best
  for porting precious payloads across campus.
All of those things are valued for their taste, and are precious because of it.
In fact, there seem never to have been any precious metals at the site.
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