Appreciative

How to spell appreciative

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce appreciative

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does appreciative mean?

1. adjectiveFeeling or showing gratitude, or recognising the worth of something or someone.

Appreciative in a sentence

• The staff were deeply appreciative of the bonus the company paid out.

• She sent an appreciative note to the colleague who covered her shift.

Where does appreciative come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin pretium, which literally meant 'a price' or 'value', the same root that gives us 'price', 'precious', and 'appraise'. From pretium the Latins built the verb appretiare, joining the prefix ad- ('to' or 'toward') to mean 'to set a price on' or 'to value'. The verb passed into Old French as aprecier and reached English in the late medieval period as 'appreciate', meaning to estimate the worth of something and, later, to be thankful for it. The adjective 'appreciative' was formed in English in the 1600s by adding the suffix -ative, which signals a tendency or disposition, so the whole word means 'inclined to value or to feel grateful'. The hidden value root explains the spelling trap: the middle is preci, the same letters seen in 'precious', not the 'pres' or 'pris' sound the ear seems to hear, and the soft -ciative ending hides a c rather than an s.

How the word is built

• ap- (a form of ad-: to, toward)
• preci (from pretium: price, value)
• -ative (adjective suffix: tending to)