Etymograph

English

precaution

Precaution comes from Late Latin praecautiō, from praecaveō ‘to take care or heed, take precautions, beware’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁- ‘to perceive’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kewh₁-1‘to perceive’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kowh₁éyeti1‘to perceive’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaweō1‘to beware, to be mindful of’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaveō1‘avoid, take care’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpraecaveō2‘to take care or heed, take precautions, beware’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpraecautiō2
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentprécaution3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1955precaution3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin praecaveo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French précaution
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English precaution
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1955, H. A. Vallance, The Highland Centenary—2: “Despite all these precautions, however, severe storms sometimes caused…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kewh₁-Wiktionary, Latin praecaveo‘to perceive’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kowh₁éyetiWiktionary, Latin praecaveo‘to perceive’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaweōWiktionary, Latin praecaveo‘to beware, to be mindful of’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaveōWiktionary, Latin praecaveo‘avoid, take care’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpraecaveōWiktionary, French précaution‘to take care or heed, take precautions, beware’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpraecautiōWiktionary, French précaution
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentprécautionWiktionary, English precaution
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1955precautionWiktionary, English precaution. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1955, H. A. Vallance, The Highland Centenary—2: “Despite all these precautions, however, severe storms sometimes caused…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁- ‘to perceive’

show, kudos, sheen, 13 more

through Proto-Italic *kaweō ‘to beware, to be mindful of’

1 more

through Latin caveō ‘avoid, take care’

cave, 1 more

Today it means

noun Previous caution or care; caution previously employed to prevent misfortune or to secure good.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “precaution”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin praecaveo, French précaution. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁- / precaution

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