preciosity

 
Pronunciation: /ˌprɛʃɪˈɒsɪti/

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