PRE'CIOUS, adjective [Latin pretiosus, from pretium, price. See Praise.] 1. Of great price; costly; as a precious stone. 2. Of great value or worth; very valuable. She is more precious than rubies. Proverbs 3:15. 3. Highly valued; much esteemed. The word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 1 Samuel 3:1. 4. Worthless; in irony and contempt. Precious metals, gold and silver, so called on account of their value.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI