Etymology

precarious

pre·ca·ri·ous
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Today it means: Dangerously insecure or unstable; perilous. Full definition →

Latin precārius
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precarious · adjective1

  1. Latin · derived fromprecārius“begged for, obtained by entreaty”
  2. English todayprecarious

From Latin precārius (“begged for, obtained by entreaty”), from prex, precis (“prayer”). Compare French précaire, Portuguese precário, and Spanish and Italian precario.

precarious · adjective2

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-
  7. Middle Englishpre-
  8. Englishpre-
  9. Englishcarious
  10. English todayprecarious

From pre- + carious.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.