precaution
/prɪˈkɔːʃən/noun, verb
A measure taken beforehand to prevent harm
From Latin prae (before) + Latin cavere (to be on one's guard).
Lineage
prae
cavere
The story
Picture a Roman seeing a loose roof tile wobble overhead: the sensible move is to act before it falls. Latin prae meant “before,” while cavere meant “be on your guard”; together they produced praecavere, “guard against beforehand.” Its past-participle stem, caut-, gave Latin praecautio, “a safeguarding,” which reached English through French précaution in the 16th century and is recorded in English around 1600. The family resemblance to caveat is real: both carry the idea of a warning or guard, while caution preserves the same protective impulse. A precaution is essentially a little act of foresight—a guard posted before trouble arrives.
Words from the same roots
Sources
- Etymonlineprecaution, care, provision, credenza, race
- Urban Dictionaryprecaution
- Wikipediaprecaution
- Wiktionaryprecaution