Where does “Precious” come from?
Precious (English) comes from Middle English precious, from Old French precios, from Latin pretiōsus, from Latin pretium, from Proto-Italic pretjom, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.
Ancestry of “Precious”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | precious | — |
| 2 | Old French | precios | valuable, costly, precious, beloved, also... |
| 3 | Latin | pretiōsus | — |
| 4 | Latin | pretium | worth, price, value, cost; pay, hire, wage,... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | pretjom | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
Words derived from “Precious”