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precocious
adjective
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Precocious got its start in Latin when the prefix prae-, meaning "ahead of," was combined with the verb coquere, meaning "to cook" or "to ripen." Together, they formed the adjective praecox, which meant "early ripening" or "premature." By the mid-1600s, English speakers had turned praecox into precocious and were using it especially to describe plants that produced blossoms before their leaves came out. Within decades, precocious was also being used to describe humans who developed skills or talents sooner than others typically did. Pop music lovers may recall the lyric "She’s precocious!" from "Bette Davis Eyes," although the song itself was something of a late bloomer: originally released in 1974 by Jackie DeShannon (and cowritten by DeShannon and Donna Weiss), it didn’t become a hit until Kim Carnes’ Grammy Award-winning version was released in 1981.
Examples of precocious in a Sentence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'precocious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Precocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precocious. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
Kids Definition
precocious
adjectivefrom Latin praecoc-, praecox "ripening early, ripening before its time," from prae- "ahead of, before" and coquere "to ripen, cook"
Medical Definition
precocious
adjectiveMore from Merriam-Webster on precocious
Nglish: Translation of precocious for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of precocious for Arabic Speakers
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