Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “precipitant” come from?

Precipitant comes from Old French precipitant, from Latin praecipitans, the present participle of praecipitare meaning to throw headlong, derived from praeceps meaning headlong, ultimately from the root for head.

precipitant (English): That falls headlong, or causes a headlong fall;...

Definitions

  1. That falls headlong, or causes a headlong fall;...

Ancestry of “precipitant”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchprécipitantpresent participle of précipiter
2Latinpraecipitansthrowing
3Latinpraecipitō—
4Latinpraecepshead first, headlong; steep, precipitous; hasty,...
5Latin-ceps-headed; -fold; -catcher
6Old Latin-cipes"third declension"; Alternative form of -ceps;...
7Proto-Italic-kaputis-headed
8Proto-Italickaputhead
9Proto-Indo-Europeankáputhead
10Proto-Indo-Europeankap-to seize, hold

Words derived from “precipitant”

  • precipitancy
  • precipitance
  • precipitantly
  • immunoprecipitant
  • precipitantness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kap- →