precies Dutch · revision 37357

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1537|origins=la caedō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /prəˈsis/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''precies''' (comparative preciezer, superlative meest precies or preciest)^(Wiktionary)

+ Older spellings are ''precise'', ''precijs'', ''precis'' and ''percies''.^(WNT)^(EWN)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|precis|t=exact, precise]] (modern [[fr|précis]], recorded in French from 1377), [[der|la-med|precisus|t=compressed, concise]].^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(De Vries 1971)^(Wiktionary) 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.^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(De Vries 1971)^(EWN)

+

+ The Latin word is [[m|la|praecīsus|t=cut off, shortened, concise]], a term of rhetoric, the past participle of [[m|la|praecīdō|t=to cut off in front, shorten]], formed [[af|la|prae-|caedō|t1=before, in front|t2=to cut, hew]] (see [[pre-]] and [[incisie]]).^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) Kiliaan's dictionary still lists the rhetorical sense “concisely”, but it has not been found in Dutch texts.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Precies'' is first recorded in 1537, meaning “precisely stated”.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001) In 1583 soldiers are to appear ''precise compareren 's morghens te acht uren'', “punctually at eight in the morning”.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From “exactly stated” the word spread to “exact” (''de precise quantiteyt'', 1613), “strict, rigorous” (1642) and, of people, “meticulous, scrupulous”.^(EWN)^(WNT) In the 17th-century Reformed Church the ''preciezen'' were the strict Calvinists, set against the more liberal ''rekkelijken''.^(WNT)^(Van Dale 2014) The adverb “exactly” is found in ''precis op mij lijken'', “to look exactly like me”, in 1784, and in ''precies zo'' in 1896.^(EWN)

+

+ In Belgium ''precies'' can also mean “apparently, as it seems”.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary) Dutch lent the word to Indonesian ([[id|persis]], [[m|id|percis]]), Javanese, Balinese and other languages of Indonesia, to Papiamentu ([[pap|presis]]) and Sranan Tongo, and it survives in Afrikaans [[m|af|presies]].^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1537 – ''Precies'' “precisely stated”.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 1583 – “Punctual”.^(EWN)

+ * 1613 – “Exact”, ''de precise quantiteyt''.^(EWN)

+ * 1642 – “Strict”.^(EWN)

+ * 1784 – The adverb “exactly”.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|exact]], [[m|en|precise]], without deviating from what is meant or agreed.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Meticulous, scrupulous, punctual.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Exactly, precisely: ''het is precies vijf uur''.^(Wiktionary)^(EWN)

+ # ''(Belgium)'' Apparently, seemingly.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pietje-precies]]

+ * [[preciesheid]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[precisie]]

+ * [[fr|précis]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Niet precies'' before a noun or adjective means “not exactly, not really”.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}