Prized

How to spell prized

6 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce prized

What does prized mean?

1. adjectiveValued very highly and treated as precious.
2. verbPast tense of prize: regarded something as extremely valuable.

Prized in a sentence

• adjective

  The antique watch is her most prized possession.

• verb

  She always prized her privacy above any salary or promotion.

• adjective

  The gallery displayed its prized collection of early paintings.

• verb

  The family prized honesty more than wealth.

Where does prized come from?

Language of origin: French

This word grows from the verb 'prize', meaning to value something highly or to set a price on it. That verb came into English in the late 1300s from Old French 'prisier' (also spelled 'preisier'), meaning 'to appraise' or 'to esteem', which in turn rests on the Latin 'pretium', meaning 'price' or 'worth'. The same Latin root branched out into a remarkable family of English words, including 'price', 'praise', 'precious', and 'appreciate', all of which carry the idea of assigning worth. Over time 'prized' settled into use both as a past tense, as in 'she prized her independence', and as an adjective describing something treasured, as in 'a prized possession'. The spelling trap is the soft 'z' sound and the silent partnership with the British verb 'prise' (to lever open), whose past form 'prised' sounds identical but means something quite different.

How the word is built

• priz- (from prize: to value, set a price on)
• -ed (past tense / adjectival suffix)