Quote:
Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker
Marty-McFly's mother says "dear" to mean expensive, and various other expressions common among NLers of French heritage.
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That's supposed to be special? I always thought it was standard.
That basic word literally means expensive in West Germanic languages (modern Dutch, modern German, modern Low Saxon, and IIRC English as well.)
(Googled it up just for fun: Old English
deore "precious, valuable, costly, loved, beloved")
If it's true that the more literal use has fallen out of favor now (though I seem to recall seeing turns of phrase like "this cost him dearly", etc. in modern English) then his mom's just a bit old fashioned and simply still speaks like her Anglo ancestors used to.