prestigious

adjective

pres·​ti·​gious pre-ˈsti-jəs How to pronounce prestigious (audio) -ˈstē- How to pronounce prestigious (audio)
 also  prə-
1
: having prestige : honored
2
archaic : of, relating to, or marked by illusion, conjuring, or trickery
prestigiously adverb
prestigiousness noun

Did you know?

You might expect, based on how adjectives are often formed in English, that today’s word is an extension of the noun prestige. However, although both words share the same Latin root, they entered English by different routes and at different times. Moreover, both adjective and noun once had more to do with trickery than respect when they were first used. Prestigious came directly from the Latin adjective praestigiosis, meaning “full of tricks” or “deceitful,” and had a similar meaning upon entering English in the mid-16th century. Praestigiosis in turn came from the plural noun praestigiae, meaning “conjurer’s tricks.” This noun also gave English the word prestige, though it first passed through French and arrived a century after prestigious. Though it wasn’t first on the block, prestige influenced prestigious in a different way, by eventually developing an extended sense of “standing or esteem.” That change spurred a similar development in prestigious, which now means simply “illustrious or esteemed.”

Examples of prestigious in a Sentence

a nutritional study that has been published by a prestigious medical journal the most prestigious social club in town
Recent Examples on the Web It is widely regarded as the game’s most prestigious event outside of the majors with a $25 million prize purse up for grabs. George Ramsay, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 Ashley Chen, 23, a recent graduate of Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, is applying for doctoral programs in the United States. Cate Cadell, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 There’s a gargantuan breakthrough on the horizon, but not at the prestigious South Bay institution located in Palo Alto that specializes in gargantuan breakthroughs. David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024 One day ahead of the annual ceremony, various stars attended rehearsals for the prestigious awards show at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 10 Mar. 2024 The duo tackled home brewing in the early stages of their nearly 18-year relationship, earned a gold medal from prestigious beer competition World Beer Cup and worked various jobs in the beer business, according to the brewery’s website. Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 7 Mar. 2024 The Los Angeles Times staff won the prestigious Associated Press Sports Editors’ grand slam, a best-in-show award presented to publications that place in the top 10 across four major competition categories. Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024 Boulter earned $142,000 plus 500 points in the WTA rankings, heading to this week’s start of the prestigious BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2024 Her outstanding performance will be recognized with Southport’s prestigious STARS Award (Students Tackling Academic Rigor Successfully), reserved for students graduating with a 4.0 or higher GPA. Joe Mutascio, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prestigious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin praestigiosus, from praestigiae

First Known Use

1546, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of prestigious was in 1546

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near prestigious

Cite this Entry

“Prestigious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prestigious. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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