preciosity
American Heritage Dictionary:
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pre·ci·os·i·ty
(prĕsh'ē-ŏs'ĭ-tē, prĕs'-) 
n., pl., -ties.
n., pl., -ties.
- Extreme meticulousness or overrefinement, as in language, taste, or style.
- An instance of extreme meticulousness or overrefinement.
[Middle English preciousite, preciousness, from Old French preciosite, from Latin pretiōsitās, from pretiōsus, precious, from pretium, price. See precious.]
Fowler's Modern English Usage:
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preciosity, preciousness
Preciosity is now virtually restricted to the meaning 'over-refinement in art or language, especially in the choice of words', leaving preciousness as the noun corresponding to the general meanings of precious.
| precedence, precedent, precede, proceed, pre- | |
| precipitate, precipitous, preciseness, precision, predicate |
Translations:
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Preciosity
Dansk (Danish)
n. - kunstlethed
Nederlands (Dutch)
gekunsteldheid
Français (French)
n. - préciosité
Deutsch (German)
n. - Affektiertheit
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - επιτήδευση
Italiano (Italian)
affettazione
Português (Portuguese)
n. - preciosidade (f)
Русский (Russian)
изысканность
Español (Spanish)
n. - afectación, artificialidad, amaneramiento, preciosismo
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - affekterad stil, förkonstling
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
故作风雅, 故作风雅者, 矫揉造作, 贵重物品
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 故作風雅, 故作風雅者, 矯揉造作, 貴重物品
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 気むずかしさ, 気取り
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) حذلقه, تكلف
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ליטוש רב מדי בשפה או באמנות, מלאכותיות, נוקדנות, דקדקנות
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Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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