Etymologically
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caution

Etymology and origin of the English word caution

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1297
Borrowed from
Old French caution
Ultimate origin
Latin (cautio)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈkɔː.ʃən/, US /ˈkɑː.ʃən/, /ˈkɔː.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French caution (“security, surety”), and directly from Latin cautiō, care, precaution,[2][3][4] from cautus, past participle of cavēre, to beware, be on one's guard (see caveat),[2][3][5] from a root meaning to observe.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Security given for an engagement, bail or a guarantee: 1297 in the OED, about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline.[6][2][3] This sense survives chiefly in Scots law and the United States.[7]

Semantic evolution

A re-adoption from Latin took place about 1600:[4] a word of warning is from about 1600,[3] 1605 in the OED,[6] and prudence in regard to danger from the 1650s.[3] The verb, to warn, is from the 1640s,[3] 1683 in Merriam-Webster.[5] American slang from 1835 used caution for anything that causes alarm or astonishment.[3] In British law, a caution is a formal warning to a suspect, or to an offender instead of prosecution.[8] Cautious is from the 17th century.[4]

Timeline

  • 1297 – security, bail.[6]
  • c. 1600 – a warning.[3]
  • 1640s – to caution (verb).[3]
  • 1650s – prudence.[3]
  • 1835 – an astonishing thing (US slang).[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Care taken to avoid danger or mistakes; prudence.
  2. A warning or piece of advice.
  3. (law, chiefly UK) A formal warning given to a suspect or offender.

Verb

  1. To warn or advise to take care.

Word family

  • cautionary
  • cautioner
  • incaution
  • cautious
  • precaution
  • overcaution

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Caution.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/caution. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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