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1 precious
precious ['preʃəs](a) (jewel, material, object) précieux, de grande valeur;∎ the world's most precious resources les ressources les plus précieuses de la planète(b) (friend, friendship, moment) précieux;∎ my time is precious mon temps est précieux;∎ the ambulance lost precious minutes in a traffic jam l'ambulance a perdu des minutes précieuses dans un embouteillage;∎ a few precious drops of water quelques précieuses gouttes d'eau;∎ that photo is very precious to me je tiens beaucoup à cette photo(c) (affected → style, person) précieux∎ I don't want your precious advice je ne veux pas de vos fichus conseils;∎ here's your precious book! le voilà ton sacré livre!2 adverbfamiliar très□ ;∎ there's precious little chance of that happening il y a bien peu ou très peu de chances (pour) que cela se produise;∎ precious few of them turned up il y en a très peu qui sont venus3 noun∎ (term of affection) (my) precious mon trésor►► precious metal métal m précieux;precious stone pierre f précieuse -
2 precious
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3 precious
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4 Usage note : before
When before is used as a preposition in expressions of time or order of sequence or importance, it is translated by avant:before the meeting= avant la réunionshe left before me= elle est partie avant moiFor more examples and particular usages, see A1, 2, 3 in the entry before.When before is used as a preposition meaning in front of (when you are talking about physical space) or in the presence of, it is translated by devant:before our eyes= devant nos yeuxhe declared before his mother that …= il a déclaré devant sa mère que …When before is used as an adjective after a noun, it is translated by précédent/-e:the time before= la fois précédentethe one before is translated by le précédent or la précédente:no, I’m not talking about that meeting but the one before= non, je ne parle pas de cette réunion-là mais de la précédenteFor particular usages see B in the entry before.When before is used as an adverb meaning beforehand, it is translated by avant in statements about the present or future:I’ll try to talk to her before= j’essaierai de lui en parler avantyou could have told me before= tu aurais pu me le dire avantI had met her two or three times before= je l’avais rencontrée deux ou trois fois auparavantI’ve met her before= je l’ai déjà rencontréeyou’ve asked me that question before= tu m’as déjà posé cette questionIn negative sentences before is often used in English simply to reinforce the negative. In such cases it is not translated at all:I’d never eaten snails before= je n’avais jamais mangé d’escargotsyou’ve never told me that before= tu ne m’as jamais dit çaFor particular usages see C in the entry before.When before is used as a conjunction, it is translated by avant de + infinitive where the two verbs have the same subject:before he saw her he recognized her voice= il a reconnu sa voix avant de la voirbefore I cook dinner I’m going to phone my mother= avant de préparer le dîner je vais appeler ma mèreWhere the two verbs have different subjects, the translation is avant que + subjunctive:Tom wants to see her before she leaves= Tom veut la voir avant qu’elle parteSome speakers and writers add ne before the verb: Tom veut la voir avant qu’elle ne parte, but this is simply a slightly precious effect of style and is never obligatory. For particular usages see D in the entry before. -
5 steal
(a) (money, property) voler;∎ to steal sth from sb voler qch à qn;∎ he stole money from her purse il a volé de l'argent dans son porte-monnaie;∎ I've had my purse stolen on m'a volé mon porte-monnaie;∎ several paintings have been stolen from the museum plusieurs tableaux ont été volés au musée;∎ they've stolen my idea! ils ont volé mon idée!∎ to steal sb's heart séduire qn;∎ to steal a kiss voler un baiser;∎ to steal all the credit for sth s'attribuer tout le mérite de qch;∎ may I steal a few moments of your precious time? pouvez-vous m'accorder quelques instants de votre temps si précieux?;∎ to steal a glance at sb jeter un regard furtif à qn;∎ British to steal a march on sb prendre qn de vitesse, couper l'herbe sous le pied à qn;∎ to steal the show from sb ravir la vedette à qn;∎ he really stole the show with that act of his! son numéro a été le clou du spectacle!;∎ to steal sb's thunder éclipser qn(a) (commit theft) voler;∎ he was caught stealing il a été pris en train de voler;∎ Bible thou shalt not steal tu ne voleras point∎ to steal in/out entrer/sortir à pas furtifs ou feutrés;∎ to steal into a room se glisser ou se faufiler dans une pièce;∎ she stole up on me from behind elle s'est approchée de moi par derrière sans faire de bruit;∎ figurative literary shadows began to steal across the courtyard des ombres commencèrent à envahir la cour;∎ literary a strange sadness stole over me une étrange tristesse m'envahit3 noun∎ it was a steal c'était une bonne affairepartir furtivement, s'esquiver
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