Where does “precaution” come from?
Precaution comes from French précaution, from Latin praecautio, derived from the Latin verb praecavere meaning "to guard against beforehand," formed from prae- "before" and cavere "to beware," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European preh₂-.
precaution (English): Previous caution or care; caution previously...
Definitions
- Previous caution or care; caution previously...
Ancestry of “precaution”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | précaution | precaution; prudence, wariness |
| 2 | Latin | praecautiō | — |
| 3 | Latin | -tiō | — |
| 4 | Latin | dissertātiō | — |
| 5 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 6 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 7 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 8 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 9 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
Words derived from “precaution”