precocious English · revision 1314

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pɹəˈkəʊʃəs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed from [[la|praecox|t=ripening early, premature]] (stem ''praecoc-'')^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) and the suffix [[-ous]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) ''Praecox'' is from ''praecoquere'' “to ripen fully”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) from ''prae-'' “before” and ''coquere'' “to cook, ripen”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) It is related to [[cook]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of a plant, flowering or fruiting early, especially blossoming before the leaves appear (1650).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The botanical sense came first.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) From the 1670s the word was applied figuratively to people who develop some faculty unusually early,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and this is now its main sense, especially of children.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Etymonline suggests the obsolete ''princock'' “pert boy” may be a folk alteration of Latin ''praecox''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1640 – ''precocity''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1650 – of plants, early-flowering.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1672 – indicating premature development.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1678 – of persons, developed early.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Showing unusually early development or maturity, especially in mental ability, as ''a precocious child''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Happening unusually early.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(botany)'' Flowering before the leaves appear.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[precociously]]

+ * [[precociousness]]

+ * [[precocity]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[apricot]]

+ * [[cook]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}