pre-loved
pre-loved, preloved – aggettivo
pre-owned – aggettivo
pre-enjoyed – aggettivo
These markets have a good selection of pre-loved clothing.
Reduce your carbon footprint by buying preloved furniture.
She’s developed an eye for gently pre-owned designer items.
Most people prefer not to have their footwear preloved.
We pay cash for pre-enjoyed vinyl in good condition.
Il boom del riciclo in tutte le sue espressioni, tra cui il recente upcycling o riuso creativo, ha contribuito all’abbattimento dello stigma sociale legato all’acquisto di oggetti di seconda mano; in lingua inglese la connotazione negativa è ancora fortemente presente in termini quali cast-off e hand-me-down, e un po’ meno nei sinonimi second-hand e used. Niente paura, però: oggi per descrivere un oggetto acquistato all’usato abbiamo a disposizione pre-owned, pre-enjoyed e addirittura preloved. Gli ultimi due aggettivi, in particolare, spostano l’attenzione dal fatto che l’oggetto non è nuovo all’idea, ben più accettabile, che il precedente proprietario quell’oggetto lo ha amato e trattato con tutte le attenzioni.
Degli aggettivi appena elencati, pre-owned è quello usato più di frequente per riferirsi a prodotti costosi, tipo un’auto o un orologio di marca, mentre preloved e pre-enjoyed per descrivere effetti personali tipo vestiti e accessori, nonché mobili e oggetti per la casa. E, ne converrete, l’atteggiamento mentale nei confronti di un maglione usato è ben diverso da quello nei confronti di un vestito vintage preloved.
Origini del termine
Preloved, pre-enjoyed e pre-owned combinano il prefisso pre- con un participio passato e hanno lo stesso significato; preloved compare nell’inglese australiano intorno alla fine XX secolo, mentre pre-owned e pre-enjoyed hanno avuto origine negli Stati Uniti.
Traduzione di Loredana Riu
pre-loved, preloved – adjective
pre-owned – adjective
pre-enjoyed – adjective
These markets have a good selection of pre-loved clothing.
Reduce your carbon footprint by buying preloved furniture.
She’s developed an eye for gently pre-owned designer items.
Most people prefer not to have their footwear preloved.
We pay cash for pre-enjoyed vinyl in good condition.
The prevalence of recycling in all its guises and the more recent vogue for upcycling have largely removed the stigma that used to be attached to buying things that had belonged to other people; a stigma that still clings to words like cast-off and hand-me-down, for example. But if alternative words like second-hand and used still seem to carry some negative connotations have no fear, because now you can describe your charity-shop or e-Bay find as pre-owned, pre-enjoyed or even preloved. The latter two in particular switch the focus from the fact that something is not new to the idea that it has been valued by another person who happens not to need it any longer.
Although the terms can be applied to anything from a home to a handbag, pre-owned is most frequently applied to high-value items such as vehicles, designer watches and the like. Preloved and pre-enjoyed, meanwhile, tend to be used more for personal items such as clothes and accessories, as well as furniture and other household items. And I think we can agree that while there may be something not quite nice about wearing a used sweater, a preloved vintage dress is a completely different proposition.
Origins
Preloved, pre-enjoyed and pre-owned mean the same, but preloved appeared first in Australian English around the end of the 20th century, while pre-owned and pre-enjoyed started life in the US. All three combine the prefix pre- with a past participle.
