precious
part of speech
adjective (precious); adverb (precious little / few — informal)
meaning for a pupil
1) Precious means very valuable, worth a lot of money («precious stones», «precious metals»). tree →
2) Precious means very important and loved, not to be wasted or lost («precious memories», «time is precious»). tree →
3) Informally, precious can mean too fussy or delicate. tree →
4) «Precious little» means very little. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Moses' blessing is read as showing that the land's riches are blessings from God, given tribe by tribe. Job says God Himself can be precious silver to the one who returns to Him. In the primary lessons: In science and geography «precious metals» (gold, silver, platinum) and «precious stones» (diamonds, rubies) are rare and valuable. In everyday life and stories it shows how much something is loved: a precious toy, a precious pet, precious water in a desert. Phrases: «precious stones», «precious time», «my precious».
examples
- And for the tops of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the everlasting hills, (Torah DEU.33.15, JPS 1917) tree →
- And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, and for the precious things of the yield of the moons, (Torah DEU.33.14, JPS 1917) tree →
- And of Joseph he said: Blessed of the LORD be his land; for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, (Torah DEU.33.13, JPS 1917) tree →
- Dedan was thy trafficker in precious cloths for riding. (Prophets EZK.27.20, JPS 1917) tree →
- And the Almighty be thy treasure, and precious silver unto thee; (Writings JOB.22.25, JPS 1917) tree →
- Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his precious fruits. (Writings SNG.4.16, JPS 1917) tree →
- Gold and silver are precious metals. tree →
- Water is precious in the desert. tree →
- This old photo is precious to Grandma. tree →
- Diamonds and rubies are precious stones. tree →
- Don't waste precious time; start your homework. tree →
- The baby is very precious to her parents. tree →
- There is precious little food left in the fridge. tree →
- The dragon guarded its precious treasure. tree →
- Just see those precious stones lying there! tree →
note
No comparative ending: use «more precious», «most precious». Trap: «precious little» means almost none. «Precious» things may be valuable for love, not money.
In the corpora
- And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, and for the precious things of the yield of the moons,
- And for the tops of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the everlasting hills,
- And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision.
- And I will make thy pinnacles of rubies, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy border of precious stones.
- Dedan was thy trafficker in precious cloths for riding.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «precious» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.