Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “précipiteux” come from?

précipiteux (French) comes from Latin praecipitosus, from Latin praeceps, from Latin -ceps, from Old Latin -cipes, from Proto-Italic -kaputis, from Proto-Italic kaput, from Proto-Indo-European káput, from Proto-Indo-European kap- — to seize, hold.

Ancestry of “précipiteux”, step by step

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

Words derived from “précipiteux”

  • precipitous
  • precipitously
  • precipitousness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kap- →