precarious
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin precārius (“begged for, obtained by entreaty”), from prex, precis (“prayer”). Compare French précaire and Spanish, Portuguese and Italian precario.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
precarious (comparative more precarious, superlative most precarious)
- (comparable) dangerously insecure or unstable; perilous
- (law) depending on the intention of another
Usage notes[edit]
- Because the pre- element of precarious derives from prex and not the preposition prae, this term cannot — etymologically speaking — be written as *præcarious.
Quotations[edit]
- 1906, Jack London, White Fang, part I, ch III,
- Never had he been so fond of this body of his as now when his tenure of it was so precarious.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
dangerously insecure or unstable; perilous
(law) depending on the intention of another
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
External links[edit]
- precarious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- precarious in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
