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preciosity


Definition of preciosity

noun

[mass noun]
  • excessive refinement in art, music, or language: she uses dialect to create a poetry that is free of highbrow preciosity

Origin:

mid 19th century: suggested by French préciosité, a sense derived from Molière's Les Précieuses Ridicules (1659), a comedy in which ladies frequenting the literary salons of Paris were satirized

preciosity in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of preciosity in the US English dictionary