precautionary
/pɹɪˈkɔːʃəneɹi/prih-KAW-shuh-neh-ree
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked/pɹɪˈkɔʃənɛɹi/prih-KAW-shuh-neh-ree
Meaningrelating to precaution
Common meaning: done in advance to prevent harm
Tap a word part to explore
- prebefore
- cauttake heed, keep watchLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 305 · scan
- ionnoun ending: act or result
- aryending: linked with, or a place for
‘before’ + ‘take heed, keep watch’ → precautionary
Journey through time
- Latincaveō, cāvī, cautum‘take heed, keep watch’
- Frenchprecaution
- Englishprecaution‘a step taken beforehand against harm’
- Englishformed in English from precautionprecautionary‘done in advance to prevent harm’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from precaution + -ary.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), PRECAUTION, p.462 · scan
Roots
- caveō, cāvī, cautum Latin “take heed, keep watch”
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app