Where does “precise” come from?
Precise comes from Middle French précis, from Latin praecisus, the past participle of praecido meaning to cut short, from caedo to cut and prae before.
precise (English): exact, accurate; consistent, clustered close...
Definitions
- exact, accurate; consistent, clustered close...
Ancestry of “precise”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | précis | — |
| 2 | Latin | praecīsus | shortened, severed |
| 3 | Latin | praecīdō | to cut off in front or through; shorten; sever, separate |
| 4 | Latin | prae | before; in front; in front of |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | prai | before; in front of |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | preh₂- | before, in front |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |