priceless

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English

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WOTD – 19 June 2023

Etymology

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From price +‎ -less (suffix meaning ‘lacking, without’).[1]

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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priceless (comparative more priceless, superlative most priceless)

  1. So precious as not to be obtainable or sold at any price. [from 1590s]
    Synonym: invaluable
    Antonyms: valueless, worthless, nonvaluable
    Hypernyms: valuable; unpriceable
  2. (figuratively)
    1. Held in high regard; treasured.
    2. (informal) Absurd, ridiculous.
      Synonym: rich
      • 1946, Kenneth Fearing, “Earl Janoth II”, in The Big Clock, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, page 65:
        “You son of a bitch,” she exploded. “You talk. You, of all people. You. That’s priceless.”
      • 1951, Hannah Arendt, “The Dreyfus Affair”, in The Origins of Totalitarianism (A Harvest/HBJ Book), new edition, San Diego, Calif., New York, N.Y.: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, published 1973, →ISBN, part 1 (Antisemitism), page 110:
        Where the concrete approach of the realistic nationalists eventually led them is illustrated by the priceless story of how Charles Maurras had “the honor and pleasure,” after the defeat of France, of falling in during his flight to the south with a female astrologer who interpreted to him the political meaning of recent events and advised him to collaborate with the Nazis.
      • 1962, Edna O’Brien, chapter 17, in The Lonely Girl, New York, N.Y.: Plume, Penguin Group, published December 2002, →ISBN, page 155:
        “Duty, har, har,” Simon laughed, as if some laughing machine had been wound up inside him. “Laura would love that. Jesus, that’s priceless; he’s good on propaganda. Duty! God, Laura will love that when she comes.”
    3. (informal) Very amusing, hilarious. [from 1907]
      • 1936, Lloyd C[assell] Douglas, chapter I, in White Banners, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company […], →OCLC, page 18:
        Paul laughed heartily and said she was priceless, but Hannah remained so contritely straight-faced that his laughter sounded to himself as if it had just a trace of incipient madness in it, and he suddenly sobered, blinking rapidly.
      • 2011, Esi Edugyan, “Berlin 1939”, in Half Blood Blues, London: Serpent’s Tail, →ISBN, page 142:
        Hell, those jacks was laughing and laughing like to wet themselves. Even Ernst had a smile on his face, shaking his head like he ain’t believed what he just seen. ‘Aw, Sid,’ Chip gasped. ‘Holy hell, Sid, you priceless.’
    4. (informal, often ironic) Excellent, fantastic, wonderful.
  3. (literally, uncommon) Without a price assigned; unpriced.
    • 2020, Nick Timothy, chapter 5, in Remaking One Nation: The Future of Conservatism, Cambridge: Polity Press, →ISBN, page 120:
      DeepMind, the British company discussed in chapter 2, was sold to Google for £400 million in 2014 without even a golden share for government. It is now priceless, almost certainly not for sale at any price.
  4. (obsolete) Of no value; valueless, worthless.
    • 1648, Robert Herrick, “Upon Silvia. A Mistresse.”, in Hesperides: Or, The Works both Humane & Divine […], London: […] John Williams, and Francis Eglesfield, and are to be sold by Tho[mas] Hunt, […], →OCLC, page 20:
      VVhen ſome ſhall ſay, Faire once my Silvia vvas; / Thou vvilt complaine, Falſe novv's thy Looking-glaſſe: / VVhich renders that quite tarniſht vvch vvas green, / And Priceleſs novv, vvhat Peerleſs once had been: / Upon thy Forme more vvrinkles yet vvill fall, / And comming dovvne, ſhall make no noise at all.
    • 1905 September, Mrs. John Van Vorst [i.e. Bessie Van Vorst], Marie Van Vorst, “Mrs. Evremond”, in Ainslee’s: The Magazine that Entertains, volume XVI, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Ainslee Magazine Co., →OCLC, page 78, column 2:
      [H]e thought of his late friendship with anger and held it cheap, a priceless imitation for which perhaps he had given a pure jewel in stupid exchange.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ “priceless, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022; “priceless, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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