prettiness
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pretty/ˈprɪti/
▶adjective (prettier, prettiest)
- 1 attractive in a delicate way without being truly beautiful.
- 2 informal used ironically to express displeasure: he led me a pretty dance.
■ (used condescendingly) an attractive person.
▶verb (pretties, prettying, prettied) make pretty or attractive.– phrases
pretty much (or nearly or well) informal very nearly.
a pretty penny informal a large sum of money.
be sitting pretty informal be in an advantageous position or situation.
pretty much (or nearly or well) informal very nearly.
a pretty penny informal a large sum of money.
be sitting pretty informal be in an advantageous position or situation.
– derivatives
prettily adverb,
prettiness noun,
prettyish adjective.
prettily adverb,
prettiness noun,
prettyish adjective.
word history: In Old English pretty (spelled prættig) meant ‘cunning or crafty’, coming as it did from a West Germanic base meaning ‘trick’. By the Middle Ages pretty had come to mean ‘clever, skilful, or ingenious’. The sense development ‘deceitful, cunning, clever, skilful, admirable, pleasing, attractive’ has parallels in adjectives such as nice.
'prettiness' also found in these Oxford entries:
