precision English · revision 10524

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1640|origins=fr précision|origins=la praecisio}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /prɪˈsɪʒ.ən/, /prəˈsɪʒ.ən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|précision]] (16th century) and directly from Latin praecīsiō, a cutting off,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) a noun from praecīdere, to cut off, shorten,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from prae-, before, and caedere, to cut (see [[precise]]).^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A cutting off, especially the mental separation of one idea from another: 1640 in the OED, the 1630s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The modern sense, exactness or accuracy, is from 1740;^(OED 1989) a nicety or exact detail is earlier, from 1691.^(OED 1989) Precision as a modifier, implying exact performance (''precision instrument''), is from 1875.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) In statistics it is the reproducibility of a measurement (1885), and in computing the number of significant digits in a number (1948).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1640 – a cutting off.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1691 – a nicety.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1740 – exactness.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1875 – precision instruments.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1948 – numerical precision.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The quality of being [[precise]]; [[exactness]] or [[accuracy]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The exactness with which a number is given; the number of significant digits.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made or used for exact measurement or action: ''a precision instrument''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[precisionist]]

+ * [[precisional]]

+ * [[overprecision]]

+ * [[precisionism]]

+ * [[ultraprecision]]

+ * [[double precision]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[precise]]

+ * [[concise]]

+ * [[decision]]

+ * [[incision]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}