LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

pretiōsus

pretiōsus (feminine pretiōsa, neuter pretiōsum, comparative pretiōsior, superlative pretiōsissimus, adverb pretiōsē)
Classical[prɛ.tiˈoː.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[pret.t͡siˈɔː.s̬us]
pretiōsa sg. nom. f.; pl. nom. n.; pl. acc. n.; sg. abl. f.; sg. voc. f.; pl. voc. n.Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. adjectivevaluable, precious
  2. adjectiveexpensive, costly

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

magnī pretiī; aurum pretiōsum est.
pretiōsus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Urbs et Aedificia

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativepretiōsuspretiōsapretiōsum
genitivepretiōsīpretiōsaepretiōsī
dativepretiōsōpretiōsaepretiōsō
accusativepretiōsumpretiōsampretiōsum
ablativepretiōsōpretiōsāpretiōsō
vocativepretiōsepretiōsapretiōsum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativepretiōsīpretiōsaepretiōsa
genitivepretiōsōrumpretiōsārumpretiōsōrum
dativepretiōsīspretiōsīspretiōsīs
accusativepretiōsōspretiōsāspretiōsa
ablativepretiōsīspretiōsīspretiōsīs
vocativepretiōsīpretiōsaepretiōsa

prĕtĭōsus, a, um, adj. pretium,
I. of great value, valuable, precious.
I. Lit.: equus, Cic. Off. 3, 23, 89: odores, Col. 3, 8, 4: subiitque argentea proles Auro deterior, fulvo pretiosior aere, Ov. M. 1, 115: ingenium quondam fuerat pretiosius auro, id. Am. 3, 8, 3: res pretiosissimae (opp. vilissimae), Cic. Fin. 2, 28, 91; Plin. 11, 37, 52, § 139: pretiosissimum humani animi opus, id. 7, 29, 30, § 108: nec tamen haec loca sunt ullo pretiosa metallo, rich in, Ov. P. 3, 8, 5.—
II. Transf.
A. Of great cost, costly, dear, expensive: operaria, Plaut. Bacch. 1, 1, 41: qui sordido vehiculo erubescit, pretioso gloriabitur, Sen. Ep. 87, 4: Thais, Prop. 4 (5), 5, 43. pretioso pretio emere aliquid, dear, high, Plaut. Ep. 1, 2, 17: fames, which is satisfied at much expense, Mart. 10 96, 9 : silentia, dearly bought, id. 5, 69, 7: Albani veteris pretiosa senectus, Juv. 13, 214.—
B. That gives a great price, extravagant: pretiosus emptor, Hor. C. 3, 6, 32.— Hence, adv.: prĕtĭōsē, in a costly manner, expensively, richly, splendidly (class.): vasa pretiose caelata, Cic. Inv. 2, 40, 116: pretiose armatus exercitus, Gell. 5, 5, 5: pretiosius sepeliri, Curt. 10, 1, 32.

Origins

From pretium + -ōsus.

Descendants
  • Catalanpreciós
  • Englishprecious
  • Frenchprécieux
  • Italianprezioso
  • Portugueseprecioso
  • Romanianprețios
  • Spanishprecioso
  • Sicilianprizziusu

In English words that came into English from pretiōsus

  • preciouspretiōsus

Quick answers

What does pretiōsus mean in Latin?
pretiōsus, a adjective, means “valuable, precious; expensive, costly”.
How do you pronounce pretiōsus?
In classical Latin, [prɛ.tiˈoː.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [pret.t͡siˈɔː.s̬us].