précipiter

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pʁe.si.pi.te/^[1]

Forms

précipiter^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin praecipitō (“to throw down headlong; to hasten”), derived from praeceps (“headlong”), formed from prae (“before, forward”) and caput (“head”), the source of chef.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

Bloch and Wartburg date the word to 1386; the first texts with a clear sense are from 1442, presser, hâter quelqu'un, and before 1442 in Pierre de Nesson's paraphrase of Job, to cast someone down from a high position.^[4][2][3]

Semantic evolution

All the senses were fixed before the end of the 17th century.^[3] Figuratively it meant to make someone fall from a high position, and, from the mid-15th century to plunge someone into a dangerous or painful situation;^[3][2] Molière (1661) uses it for passing from elation to dejection, a sense now obsolete.^[3][2] The concrete sense is represented by se précipiter, to throw oneself from a height (1466), and the transitive verb (1495), now literary.^[3][2]

From the idea of falling came the chemical sense, first in mercure précipité (1555), then to cause a substance in solution to settle (1663).^[3][2] The sense of hurrying was extended: to speed something up (Du Bellay, 1552), to decide hastily (1556), to bring an event nearer (1559), and se précipiter to rush (Amyot, 1559) and, from 1665, to dash toward something.^[2] The noun précipitation dates from 1429.^[4]

Timeline

• 1386 – First record, in Bloch and Wartburg.^[4]
• 1442 – “To hurry someone”.^[2]
• Before 1442 – “To cast down”, in Pierre de Nesson.^[2]
• 1466 – Se précipiter “to throw oneself down”.^[2]
• 1552 – Du Bellay: to hasten.^[2]
• 1555 – Mercure précipité.^[2]
• 1559 – Amyot: se précipiter “to rush”.^[2]
• 1663 – Glaser: the chemical sense.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To throw down from a height: précipiter dans le vide.^[7][1]
2. (figurative) To plunge (someone) into a bad situation; to bring down.^[7][1]
3. To hasten, rush: précipiter son départ, précipiter les événements.^[1][2]
4. (chemistry) To precipitate (a substance from a solution).^[1][2]
5. Se précipiter: to throw oneself down; to rush, dash: se précipiter vers la sortie.^[1][2]
6. Se précipiter: to speed up: les événements se précipitent.^[2]

Word family

• précipité

Related words

• précipitamment
• précipitation
• précipice
• Latin praeceps

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 281b
7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert