pretty
See also: Pretty
Contents
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English prety, preti, praty, prati, from Old English prættiġ (“tricky, crafty, sly, cunning, wily, astute”), from Proto-Germanic *prattugaz (“boastful, sly, slick, deceitful, tricky, cunning”), corresponding to prat (“trick”) + -y. Cognate with Dutch prettig (“nice, pleasant”), dialectal German (East Frisia) prettig (“funny”), German protzig (“showy, ostentatious, swanky, pretentious”), Icelandic prettugur (“deceitful, tricky”). For the sense-development, compare canny, clever, cute.
PronunciationEdit
- (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈpɹɪti/
- (US, dialectal) IPA(key): /ˈpɝti/
- (US, rare) IPA(key): /ˈpɹʊti/
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪti
AdjectiveEdit
pretty (comparative prettier, superlative prettiest)
- Cunning; clever, skilful. [from 9th c.]
- 1877, George Hesekiel and Bayard Taylor, Bismarck his Authentic Biography, page 380:
- In the end, however, it was a very pretty shot, right across the chasm; killed first fire, and the brute fell headlong into the brook [...].
- 1877, George Hesekiel and Bayard Taylor, Bismarck his Authentic Biography, page 380:
- Pleasant in sight or other senses; attractive, especially of women or children. [from 15th c.]
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1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess[1]:
- The face which emerged was not reassuring. […]. He was not a mongol but there was a deficiency of a sort there, and it was not made more pretty by a latter-day hair cut which involved eccentrically long elf-locks and oiled black curls.
- 2010, Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 4 Feb 2010:
- To escape a violent beating from sailors to whom he has sold a non-functioning car, Jerry takes his stepfamily for a holiday in a trailer park miles away, where, miraculously, young Nick meets a very pretty young woman called Sheeni, played by Portia Doubleday.
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- Of objects or things: nice-looking, appealing. [from 15th c.]
- 2010, Lia Leendertz, The Guardian, 13 Feb 2010:
- 'Petit Posy' brassicas [...] are a cross between kale and brussels sprouts, and are really very pretty with a mild, sweet taste.
- 2010, Lia Leendertz, The Guardian, 13 Feb 2010:
- (often pejorative) Fine-looking; only superficially attractive; initially appealing but having little substance; see petty. [from 15th c.]
- 1962, "New Life for the Liberals", Time, 28 Sep 1962:
- Damned by the Socialists as "traitors to the working class," its leaders were decried by Tories as "faceless peddlers of politics with a pretty little trinket for every taste."
- 1962, "New Life for the Liberals", Time, 28 Sep 1962:
- (dated) Moderately large; considerable. [from 15th c.]
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1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy, Oxford: Printed by Iohn Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 216894069; The Anatomy of Melancholy, 2nd corrected and augmented edition, Oxford: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, 1624, OCLC 54573970, (please specify |partition=1, 2, or 3):, I.2.4.vii:
- they flung all the goods in the house out at the windows into the street, or into the sea, as they supposed; thus they continued mad a pretty season […].
- 2004, "Because They're Worth it", Time, 26 Jan 04:
- "What did you do to your hair?" The answer could be worth a pretty penny for L'Oreal.
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- (dated) Excellent, commendable, pleasing; fitting or proper (of actions, thoughts etc.). [from 16th c.]
- 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, Boston 1867, page 75:
- Some people are surprised, I believe, that that the eldest was not [named after his father], but Isabella would have him named Henry, which I thought very pretty of her.
- 1919, Saki, ‘The Oversight’, The Toys of Peace:
- ‘This new fashion of introducing the candidate's children into an election contest is a pretty one,’ said Mrs. Panstreppon; ‘it takes away something from the acerbity of party warfare, and it makes an interesting experience for the children to look back on in after years.’
- 1926, Ernest Hemingway, The sun also rises, page 251:
- "Oh, Jake." Brett said, "we could have had such a damned good time together." Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly pressing Brett against me. "Yes", I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?"
- 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, Boston 1867, page 75:
- (ironic) Awkward, unpleasant. [from 16th c.]
- 1931, "Done to a Turn", Time, 26 Jan 1931:
- His sadistic self-torturings finally landed him in a pretty mess: still completely married, practically sure he was in love with Tillie, he made dishonorable proposals of marriage to two other women.
- 1931, "Done to a Turn", Time, 26 Jan 1931:
QuotationsEdit
- (ironic use:)
- 1995, Les Standiford, Deal to die for, page 123:
- "[...] you can still see where the kid's face is swollen up from this talk: couple of black eyes, lip all busted up, nose over sideways," Driscoll shook his head again, "just a real pretty picture."
AntonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Terms derived from pretty (adjective)
TranslationsEdit
especially of women and children: pleasant, attractive
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of objects: nice-looking
only superficially attractive
ironic: awkward, unpleasant
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External linksEdit
- Pretty in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
AdverbEdit
pretty (not comparable)
- Somewhat, fairly, quite; sometimes also (by meiosis) very.
- 1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of Sally Salisbury, V:
- By the Sheets you have sent me to peruse, the Account you have given of her Birth and Parentage is pretty exact [...].
- 1859, Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, I:
- It seems pretty clear that organic beings must be exposed during several generations to the new conditions of life to cause any appreciable amount of variation [...].
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1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.
- 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, page 539:
- The Revolutionary decade was a pretty challenging time for business.
- 1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of Sally Salisbury, V:
- (dialect) Prettily, in a pretty manner.
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1861, George Eliot, Silas Marner, London: Penguin Books, published 1967, page 139:
- 'The boy sings pretty, don't he, Master Marner?'
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Usage notesEdit
- When particularly stressed, the adverb pretty serves almost to diminish the adjective or adverb that it modifies, by emphasizing that there are greater levels of intensity.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
somewhat
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
NounEdit
pretty (plural pretties)
- A pretty person; a term of address to a pretty person.
- 1939, Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf, The Wizard of Oz
- I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!
- 1939, Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf, The Wizard of Oz
- Something that is pretty.
- "We'll stop at the knife store a look at the sharp pretties.
VerbEdit
pretty (third-person singular simple present pretties, present participle prettying, simple past and past participle prettied)
- To make pretty; to beautify