preziose

Preziose is the feminine plural form of the Italian adjective prezioso. It describes nouns that are valuable, precious, or highly regarded. It agrees in gender and number with feminine plural nouns, as in gemme preziose, opere preziose, informazioni preziose. The masculine plural form is preziosi, and the feminine singular preziosa; other forms follow standard Italian adjective agreement patterns.

Etymology and usage. The term derives from Latin pretiosus, via Old Italian prezioso, with the core meaning of value or price. In contemporary Italian, prezioso can denote intrinsic material value as well as figurative worth—for example, un ricordo prezioso or un consiglio prezioso.

Context and placement. Preziose is commonly used in contexts involving jewelry, art, or historical objects, but it also appears in reference to information, memories, or qualities considered valuable. The usual word order in Italian places the adjective after the noun: gioielli preziosi, pietre preziose, informazioni preziose. It can occur before the noun for emphasis or stylistic effect in literary or rhetorical usage (for example, preziose gemme), though this is less common in everyday prose.

See also. Prezioso; preziosità; sinonimi such as di valore, pregiato; antonimi such as banale or comune.