Etymologically
Log in

precies

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 15:41. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Forms

precies (comparative preciezer, superlative meest precies or preciest)[1] Older spellings are precise, precijs, precis and percies.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French precis (“exact, precise”) (modern French précis, recorded in French from 1377), from Medieval Latin precisus (“compressed, concise”).[3][4][5][1] Van Veen and Van der Sijs and NEW give French as the source, while the EWN leaves open a direct borrowing from the medieval Latin word.[4][5][3]

The Latin word is praecīsus (“cut off, shortened, concise”), a term of rhetoric, the past participle of praecīdō (“to cut off in front, shorten”), formed from Latin prae- (“before, in front”) + caedō (“to cut, hew”) (see pre- and incisie).[3][4] Kiliaan's dictionary still lists the rhetorical sense “concisely”, but it has not been found in Dutch texts.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Precies is first recorded in 1537, meaning “precisely stated”.[3][6] In 1583 soldiers are to appear precise compareren 's morghens te acht uren, “punctually at eight in the morning”.[3]

Semantic evolution

From “exactly stated” the word spread to “exact” (de precise quantiteyt, 1613), “strict, rigorous” (1642) and, of people, “meticulous, scrupulous”.[3][2] In the 17th-century Reformed Church the preciezen were the strict Calvinists, set against the more liberal rekkelijken.[2][7] The adverb “exactly” is found in precis op mij lijken, “to look exactly like me”, in 1784, and in precies zo in 1896.[3]

In Belgium precies can also mean “apparently, as it seems”.[7][1] Dutch lent the word to Indonesian (Indonesian persis, percis), Javanese, Balinese and other languages of Indonesia, to Papiamentu (Papiamentu presis) and Sranan Tongo, and it survives in Afrikaans presies.[8][1]

Timeline

  • 1537 – Precies “precisely stated”.[3][6]
  • 1583 – “Punctual”.[3]
  • 1613 – “Exact”, de precise quantiteyt.[3]
  • 1642 – “Strict”.[3]
  • 1784 – The adverb “exactly”.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. exact, precise, without deviating from what is meant or agreed.[7][1]
  2. Meticulous, scrupulous, punctual.[7][1][9]

Adverb

  1. Exactly, precisely: het is precies vijf uur.[1][3]
  2. (Belgium) Apparently, seemingly.[7][1]

Word family

  • pietje-precies
  • preciesheid

Usage notes

Niet precies before a noun or adjective means “not exactly, not really”.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
  4. ^ a b c Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
  5. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  7. ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  8. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  9. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org