Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Preciosity"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Preciosity \Pre`ci*os"i*ty\, n.; pl. {-ties}. [F.
pr['e]ciosit['e], OF. also precieuset['e].]
Fastidious refinement, esp. in language; specif., the
affected purism and sententiousness characteristic of the
French pr['e]cieuses of the 17th century.
He had the fastidiousness, the preciosity, the love of
archaisms, of your true decadent. --L. Douglas.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Preciosity \Pre`ci*os"i*ty\, n.
Preciousness; something precious. [Obs.] --Sir T. Browne.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
preciosity
n : the quality of being fastidious or excessively refined
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