caution English · revision 10692

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1297|origins=fro caution|origins=la cautio}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈkɔː.ʃən/, US /ˈkɑː.ʃən/, /ˈkɔː.ʃən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|caution|t=security, surety]], and directly from Latin cautiō, care, precaution,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from cautus, past participle of cavēre, to beware, be on one's guard (see [[caveat]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from a root meaning to observe.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Security given for an engagement, bail or a guarantee: 1297 in the OED, about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) This sense survives chiefly in Scots law and the United States.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A re-adoption from Latin took place about 1600:^(Hoad 1986) a word of warning is from about 1600,^(Etymonline) 1605 in the OED,^(OED 1989) and prudence in regard to danger from the 1650s.^(Etymonline) The verb, to warn, is from the 1640s,^(Etymonline) 1683 in Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024) American slang from 1835 used caution for anything that causes alarm or astonishment.^(Etymonline) In British law, a caution is a formal warning to a suspect, or to an offender instead of prosecution.^(Collins 2023) ''Cautious'' is from the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1297 – security, bail.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1600 – a warning.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1640s – to caution (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1650s – prudence.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1835 – an astonishing thing (US slang).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Care taken to avoid danger or mistakes; [[prudence]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A warning or piece of advice.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(law, chiefly UK)'' A formal warning given to a suspect or offender.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[warn]] or advise to take care.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cautionary]]

+ * [[cautioner]]

+ * [[incaution]]

+ * [[cautious]]

+ * [[precaution]]

+ * [[overcaution]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[caveat]]

+ * [[caveat emptor]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}