prestigious
adjectiveattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//pɹɛˈstɪd͡ʒəs//
- United Kingdom//pɹə-//
- United States//pɹɛˈstiːd͡ʒəs//
- United States//pɹɛˈstɪd͡ʒəs//
- United States//pɹə-//
Of high prestige.
adjective
- 1
Of high prestige.
She has a prestigious job with an international organization.
Etymology
Attested since the 1540s; Latin praestigiosus (“full of tricks”), praestigiae (“juggler's tricks”), possibly an alteration of praestringō (“to blindfold, to dazzle”), from prae- (“before”) with stringō (“to bind or tie”); equivalent to prestige + -ious. Unstressed /ɛ/ is retained by analogy with prestige.
Forms
- comparative
- more prestigious
- superlative
- most prestigious