Pristine

How to spell pristine

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce pristine

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does pristine mean?

1. adjectiveIn its original, unspoiled condition; perfectly clean, fresh, or untouched.

Pristine in a sentence

• The collector kept the vintage car in pristine condition.

• Hikers were warned not to disturb the pristine wilderness beyond the ridge.

Where does pristine come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Pristine comes from the Latin pristinus, an adjective meaning 'former', 'earlier', or 'belonging to the original state of things'. The Latin word is linked to the root pri-, the same ancient element that gives us prior and primus, meaning 'first', so at heart pristine describes something as it was at the very beginning. English adopted it in the early 1500s with that original Latin sense of 'ancient' or 'primitive', referring to an earlier and unspoiled condition. Over the following centuries the meaning narrowed and brightened into the modern idea of something fresh, clean, and completely unspoiled, as if it had never been touched. The single -s- and the long final syllable spelled -ine are the usual spelling traps, since the word sounds like it could be written with a doubled letter or an -een ending.

How the word is built

• pristin- (from Latin pristinus: former, original, primitive)
• -e