precipice
/ˈpɹɛsɪpɪs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.76 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "I resolved to remove my tent from the place where it stood, which was just under the hanging precipice of the hill; and which, if it should be shaken again, would certainly fall upon my tent[…]"
- "to stand on a precipice"
- "In emailed comments supporting the new initiative, the laureate professor Noam Chomsky said: “Humans are marching towards a precipice. When we reach it, unthinkable catastrophe is inevitable. […]”"
Etymology
First attested in 1598, from Middle French precipice, from Latin praecipitium (“a steep place”), from praeceps (“steep”), from prae + caput (“head”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“head”). Distantly related to precept through Latin praecipiō (“to teach”), from prae + capiō (“take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-, *keh₂p- (“to hold; to seize”).