semiprecious

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: sem=i=pre=cious

CIDE DICTIONARY

semiprecious, a. 

 Somewhat precious; as, semiprecious stones or metals. Used mostly of gemstones used in jewelry, such as amethyst, garnet, or iolite, which are sufficiently rare to have commercial value, but are not considered as precious, as are the diamond, emerald, and ruby.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

semiprecious, adj. (of a gem) less valuable than a precious stone.