different between appreciate vs precious

English

Etymology

Originated 1645–55 from Medieval Latin appreciatus (“valued or appraised”), from Late Latin appretiatus (“appraised”), from ap- (form of ad- (“towards”)) + Latin preti(um) (“price”) (English precious) + -atus.

Cognate to French apprécier. Latin root also origin of English appraise, which has various Romance cognates.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??p?i?.?i.e?t/, /??p?i?.si.e?t/, /??p???.i.e?t/
• Hyphenation: ap?pre?ci?ate

Verb

appreciate (third-person singular simple present appreciates, present participle appreciating, simple past and past participle appreciated)

1. (transitive) To be grateful or thankful for.

   Synonym: esteem

2. (transitive) To view as valuable.

   Synonym: esteem

3. (transitive) To be fully conscious of; understand; be aware of; detect.
   • 1883, John Lubbock, On the Senses, Instincts and Intelligence of Animals, With Special Reference to Insects

     to test the power of bees to appreciate colour

   Synonym: grasp

4. (intransitive, transitive) To increase in value.
   • 1809, David Ramsay, History of South Carolina

     lest a sudden peace should appreciate the money

   Antonym: depreciate

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Alternative forms

• appretiate (archaic)
• 'preciate (pronunciation spelling)

Related terms

• appraise
• appreciation
• appreciative
• precious

Translations

References

• “appreciate”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, ?ISBN
• “appreciate” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "appreciate" in the Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), K Dictionaries limited, 2000-2006.
• appreciate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• "appreciate" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

English

Alternative forms

• pretious (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English precious, borrowed from Old French precios (“valuable, costly, precious, beloved, also affected, finical”), from Latin preti?sus (“of great value, costly, dear, precious”), from pretium (“value, price”); see price.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p????s/
• Rhymes: -???s

Adjective

precious (comparative more precious, superlative most precious)

1. Of high value or worth.

2. Regarded with love or tenderness.

3. (derogatory) Treated with too much reverence.

4. (derogatory) Contrived to be cute or charming.
5. (colloquial) Thorough; utter.

   a precious rascal

Synonyms

• (of high value): dear, valuable
• (contrived to charm): saccharine, syrupy, twee

Derived terms

• nonprecious
• precious metal
• precious stone
• preciously
• preciousness
• semiprecious

Related terms

Translations

Noun

precious (plural preciouses)

1. Someone (or something) who is loved; a darling.
   • 1937, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

     “It isn't fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it's got in its nassty little pocketses?”

   • 1909, Mrs. Teignmouth Shore, The Pride of the Graftons (page 57)

     She sat down with the dogs in her lap. "I won't neglect you for any one, will I, my preciouses?"

Adverb

precious (not comparable)

1. Very; an intensifier.

   There is precious little we can do.

   precious few pictures of him exist

Usage notes

This adverb is chiefly used before few and little; usage with other adjectives (slight, small, scant) is much more sporadic, and is in any case limited to the semantic field of “little, small, scarce, few”.

Translations

Further reading

• precious on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

• precious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• precious in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.