pristine

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1. The usual pronunciation now is pris-teen, although the stress varies between the two syllables (and is often placed on the second in American English).

2. The primary meaning of pristine is that present in Latin pristinus which meant 'ancient, original' in a favourable sense:

The translators...have happily preserved for us the pristine simplicity of our Saxon-English—Disraeli, 1841.

It is a short step from the notion of 'in its original newness' to 'new as if original' and hence simply 'pure or clean as new', the meaning acquired by the word in the 20th century. Although objected to by language purists, the developed meaning is well established alongside the original meaning:

Thinking of the sour blackened brick of the place (scoured clean to a pristine rust once more)—Penelope Lively, 1991

The pitch, as ever, looked in pristine condition at kick-off—York Press, 2001.

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IN BRIEF: Unspoiled.

A pristine lake was at the base of a one thousand foot tall granite face.

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For a list of words related to pristine, see:

• Proper, Courteous, Refined, or Puritanical

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See words rhyming with "pristine."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Pristine.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - oprindelig, uberørt, ufordærvet

Nederlands (Dutch)
onbedorven, origineel, onbeschadigd

Français (French)
adj. - immaculé, état neuf, comme neuf

Deutsch (German)
adj. - unberührt

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - αρχικός, παλαιός, αρχέγονος, πρωτόγονος, πρωταρχικός

Italiano (Italian)
antico, puro

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - prístino, primitivo

Русский (Russian)
прежний, первозданный, нетронутый

Español (Spanish)
adj. - inmaculado, prístino

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - ofördärvad, i ursprungligt skick

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
原来的, 原始的, 古时的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 原來的, 原始的, 古時的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 원래의, 옛날의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - もとの, 原始時代の, 素朴な, 初期の, 太古の, 純朴な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) أصلي, بدائي, محتفظ بنقائه الأصلي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮טהור, זך, מקורי, קדמוני, ראשוני‬

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