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Webster 1913 Edition

Precarious

Pre-ca′ri-ous

,
Adj.
[L.
precarius
obtained by begging or prayer, depending on request or on the will of another, fr.
precari
to pray, beg. See
Pray
.]
1.
Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by courtesy; liable to be changed or lost at the pleasure of another;
as,
precarious
privileges
.
Addison.
2.
Held by a doubtful tenure; depending on unknown causes or events; exposed to constant risk; not to be depended on for certainty or stability; uncertain;
as, a
precarious
state of health;
precarious
fortunes.
“Intervals of partial and precarious liberty.”
Macaulay.
Syn. – Uncertain; unsettled; unsteady; doubtful; dubious; equivocal.
–
Precarious
,
Uncertain
. Precarious in stronger than uncertain. Derived originally from the Latin precari, it first signified “granted to entreaty,” and, hence, “wholly dependent on the will of another.” Thus it came to express the highest species of uncertainty, and is applied to such things as depend wholly on future casualties.
–
Pre-ca′ri-ous-ly
,
adv.
–
Pre-ca′ri-ous-ness
,
Noun.

Webster 1828 Edition

Precarious

PRECA'RIOUS

,
Adj.
[L. precarius, from precor, to pray or entreat; primarily, depending on request, or on the will of another.
1.
Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by courtesy liable to be changed or lost at the pleasure of another. A privilege depending on another's will is precarious, or held by a precarious tenure.
2.
Uncertain; held by a doubtful tenure; depending on unknown or unforeseen causes or events. Temporal prosperity is precarious; personal advantages, health, strength and beauty are all precarious, depending on a thousand accidents.
We say also,the weather is precarious; a phrase in which we depart not more from the primary sense of the word, than we do in a large part of all the words in the language.

Definition 2024

precarious

precarious

English

Adjective

precarious ‎(comparative more precarious, superlative most precarious)

  1. (comparable) Dangerously insecure or unstable; perilous.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.
  2. (law) Depending on the intention of another.
Synonyms
Usage notes

Because the pre- element of precarious derives from prex and not the preposition prae, this term cannot — etymologically speaking — be written as *præcarious.

Quotations
  • 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
Translations
External links
  • precarious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • precarious in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Etymology 2

pre- + carious

Adjective

precarious ‎(not comparable)

  1. (dentistry) Relating to incipient caries.

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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