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precise

Etymology and origin of the English word precise

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1443
Borrowed from
Middle French précis
Ultimate origin
Latin (praecido)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pɹɪˈsaɪs/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French précis (“condensed, cut short”),[2][3][4] and directly Medieval Latin precisus,[2][3] from Latin praecisus, abridged, cut off, past participle of praecīdere (“to cut off, shorten”),[2][3][5] from prae-, in front, and caedere, to cut (see excise, concise).[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Exact, neither more nor less: about 1443 in Barnhart, the mid-15th century in Etymonline;[2][3] definitely expressed, 1526 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

Strictly formal or correct, punctilious, is first recorded in Palsgrave (1530),[2][6] and especially strict in religious observance, in the 16th and 17th centuries puritanical, from 1566;[6] the noun precisian was a name for a Puritan.[5] Of an instrument, accurate, is from 1561.[6] Distinguished from all others, very, is from 1628.[6] Of the voice, distinctly uttered, is from 1848.[6] Precisely is late 14th century in Etymonline and the 15th century in Hoad.[3][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1443 – exact.[2]
  • 1530 – punctilious.[2]
  • 1566 – strict in religion.[6]
  • 1628 – this very one.[6]
  • 1848 – of the voice.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Clearly stated; definite.
  2. Exact or accurate, as in amount or performance.
  3. Particular; this and no other: at that precise moment.
  4. Strictly following rules or proper form; scrupulous.

Word family

  • preciseness
  • precisely
  • overprecise
  • precisian
  • superprecise
  • ultraprecise
  • unprecise

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Precise.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/precise. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·