Pricey

How to spell pricey

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce pricey

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does pricey mean?

1. adjectiveCosting a lot of money; expensive, especially more than seems reasonable.

Pricey in a sentence

• The waterfront restaurant is lovely, but the wine list is very pricey.

• Parking near the airport gets pricey during the holidays.

Where does pricey come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Pricey is an informal adjective built directly on the English noun 'price', simply by adding the adjective-forming ending -y (here spelled -ey to keep the soft sound of the c). 'Price' itself reached English in the 1200s through Old French 'pris', which came from the Latin 'pretium', meaning 'price', 'value', or 'reward'; that same Latin root also gave us 'precious', 'appreciate', and 'prize'. The adjective pricey is much younger, appearing as colloquial slang in the early twentieth century to describe something costing more than expected. The slightly awkward spelling exists because adding a plain -y to 'price' would risk a hard c reading, so the e is retained to preserve the s-sound; the rival form 'pricy' is also recorded but is less common. That choice between pricey and pricy is the main thing writers second-guess.

How the word is built

• price (cost, value)
• -ey (adjective suffix, a variant spelling of -y)