précieuse

[ prey-see-ooz; French prey-syœz ]

/ ˌpreɪ siˈʊz; French preɪˈsyœz /

Save This Word!

noun, plural pré·cieus·es

[prey-see-ooz-iz; French prey-syœz]. /ˌpreɪ siˈʊz ɪz; French preɪˈsyœz/.

one of the 17th-century literary women of France who affected an extreme care in the use of language.

an affected or pretentious woman, especially one marked by preciosity in manner or speech.

adjective

(of a woman) marked by affectation or preciosity.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

Meet Grammar Coach

Origin of précieuse

1720–30; <French; feminine of précieux; see -euse

We find here the code which ruled the Hotel de Rambouillet, and the very well-defined character of the precieuse.
The Women of the French Salons|Amelia Gere Mason
The use of names was banished, and each was addressed as “ma chere” or “ma precieuse.”
Lives of Celebrated Women|Samuel Griswold Goodrich
To be a precieuse was in itself an evidence of good conduct.
The Women of the French Salons|Amelia Gere Mason
The poet Scarron speaks of her as "toute lumineuse, toute precieuse."
The Women of the French Salons|Amelia Gere Mason

There was Ninon; and there was Madame de Rambouillet; the one galante, the other precieuse.
The Romance of Biography (Vol 2 of 2)|Anna Jameson