précaution

Forms

précaution f (plural précautions)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin praecautiō (“measure of prudence”), a learned borrowing first recorded with a sense in Montaigne (1580).^[2][3][4] The Late Latin noun is formed on the supine of praecaveō (“to be on one's guard, take precautions”), from prae- (“before”) and caveō (“to beware”).^[3][5] Bloch and Wartburg date the word to 1471, a date the GLLF repeats without a sense.^[6][5] It belongs with caution, from the same Latin verb.^[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Montaigne's Essais (1580) it means a measure taken to avoid harm or lessen its effects.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

By 1588 Montaigne also used it for a prudent, careful way of acting, the sense of avec précaution and par précaution (Molière, 1673).^[2][3] In rhetoric, the précautions oratoires are an orator's tactful ways of winning his hearers' goodwill (Rollin, 1726, in the TLFi; the Académie, 1798, in the DHLF); since Larousse (1875) the phrase also means the roundabout ways by which anyone prepares an unwelcome statement.^[2][3][5]

Prendre ses précautions dates from the late 17th century (Mme de Sévigné); it later became a euphemism for going to the toilet beforehand and, of a woman, for using contraception.^[3][5]

Timeline

• 1471 – Bloch and Wartburg's date for the word.^[6]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses it for a measure taken to avoid harm.^[2][3]
• 1588 – Montaigne uses it for a prudent manner of acting.^[2]
• 1673 – Par précaution appears in Molière's Dom Juan.^[2][3]
• late 17th century – Prendre ses précautions is found in Mme de Sévigné.^[5][3]
• 1726 – Rollin writes of précautions oratoires.^[2]
• 1875 – Larousse records the everyday sense of précautions oratoires.^[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A measure taken in advance to avoid a harm or lessen its effects, a precaution: prendre des précautions contre le froid.^[8][2][9]
2. Prendre ses précautions (familiar, euphemistic): to go to the toilet before setting out.^[8][3]
3. Prudence, circumspection: avec précaution, sans précaution, par précaution.^[8][7][3]
4. Précautions oratoires: the tactful ways a speaker prepares hearers for an unwelcome point.^[7][3]

Word family

• précautionneux
• précautionner

Related words

• caution
• Latin praecautiō
• English precaution

Usage notes

The proverb deux précautions valent mieux qu'une (“two precautions are better than one”) stands beside trop de précautions nuit (“too much caution does harm”).^[8][7]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 279a
5. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)