different between precious vs lovely

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.

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: l?v?l?, IPA^(key): /?l?vli/

Etymology 1

From Middle English lovely, luvelich, lufli, from Old English lufl?c (“amiable, loving, lovable”), equivalent to love +? -ly.

Adjective

lovely (comparative lovelier, superlative loveliest)

1. Beautiful; charming; very pleasing in form, looks, tone, or manner.
   • 1915, Herman Cyril McNeile, The Lieutenant and Others

     His pink coat was lovely
2. Very nice, wonderful.
3. (obsolete) Inspiring love or friendship; amiable.
4. (obsolete) Loving, filled with love.

Synonyms

• beautiful
• charming
• lovable
• lovesome
• loving
• See also Thesaurus:beautiful

Derived terms

• lovelily
• loveliness
• unlovely

Related terms

• loverly
• lovingly

Translations

Adverb

lovely (comparative more lovely, superlative most lovely)

1. (informal) In a lovely fashion or manner; beautifully.

Noun

lovely (plural lovelies)

1. (informal) An attractive, lovely person, especially a (professional) beauty.

   Synonyms: pretty, darling

2. Term of fond address.
3. A lovely object.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English lovely, loveli, lofli, lovelike, lovelic (“praiseworthy; laudatory”), equivalent to lofe +? -ly. Cognate with Dutch loffelijk (“laudable, praiseworthy”), German löblich (“commendable, laudable, praiseworthy”), Swedish lovlig (“permissible”). More at lofe, love.

Adjective

lovely (comparative lovelier or more lovely, superlative loveliest or most lovely)

1. (archaic) Worthy of praise.

Anagrams

• volley

Middle English

Adjective

lovely

1. lovely: loving, filled with love

   • Many a lovely loke on them he cast.