Where does “precarious” come from?
Precarious derives from Latin precarius, formed with the suffix -arius from Latin prex, which traces to Proto-Indo-European preḱ- and ultimately pr̥ḱneh₂, roots relating to entreaty or asking.
precarious (English): Dangerously insecure or unstable; perilous;...
Definitions
- Dangerously insecure or unstable; perilous;...
Ancestry of “precarious”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | carious | Having caries ; decayed, rotten |
| 2 | French | carieux | carious |
| 3 | French | carie | decay , cavity; rot; rust |
| 4 | Latin | cariēs | — |
| 5 | Latin | careō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | kazēō | to lack |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱes-éh₁-ye-ti | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱes- | to cut off, separate; to cut up, to slaughter; to... |
Words derived from “precarious”