precipice
This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 14 October 2026 at 07:57. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈpɹɛsɪpɪs/[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Middle French précipice,[2][3][4][5][6] from Latin praecipitium (“a headlong fall; a steep place”),[2][3][4][5][6] from praeceps “headlong, steep”,[2][3][4][5][6] from prae- “before” and caput “head”.[3][4][5][6] It is related to precipitate and precipitous.[2][1]
Earliest recorded meaning
A headlong fall or descent, especially to a great depth (1598), a sense now obsolete.[7][3]
Semantic evolution
By 1632 the word meant a very steep cliff or rock face,[7][3][4] and by the 1650s (1651) it was used figuratively of a perilous situation.[7][4] Etymonline records an earlier verb (1590s) meaning “to fall to a great depth”.[4] Merriam-Webster dates the noun to 1613.[5]
Timeline
- 1598 – a headlong fall, now obsolete.[7][3]
- 1613 – Merriam-Webster's date.[5]
- 1632 – a very steep cliff.[7][3]
- 1651 – a perilous situation.[7]
Modern meaning
Noun
- A very steep or overhanging rock face; a cliff or crag.
- The brink of a dangerous or disastrous situation, as in on the precipice of war.
Word family
- precipiced
Related words
- precipitous
- precipitate
- head
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press