Precinct, prē′singkt, n. limit or boundary of a place: a district or division within certain boundaries: limit of jurisdiction or authority. [L. præcinctus, pa.p. of præcingĕre—præ, before, cingĕre, to gird.]
Precious, presh′us, adj. of great price or worth: costly: highly esteemed: worthless, contemptible (in irony): fastidious, overnice: (coll.) considerable: (B.) valuable because rare.—adv. (coll.) extremely.—n. Precios′ity, fastidiousness, affected overrefinement.—adv. Prec′iously.—ns. Prec′ious-met′al, a metal of great value, as gold or silver; Prec′iousness; Prec′ious-stone, a stone of value and beauty for ornamentation: a gem or jewel. [O. Fr. precios (Fr. précieux)—L. pretiosus—pretium, price.]
Precipice, pres′i-pis, n. a very steep place: any steep descent: a perpendicular bank or cliff.—adj. Precip′itous, like a precipice: very steep: hasty: rash.—adv. Precip′itously.—n. Precip′itousness. [Fr.,—L. præcipitium—præceps, præcipitis, headlong—præ, before, caput, capitis, the head.]
Precipitate, prē-sip′i-tāt, v.t. to throw head-foremost: to urge with eagerness: to hurry rashly: to hasten: (chem.) to cause to fall to the bottom, as a substance in solution or suspension.—v.i. to fall headlong: to make too great haste.—adj. falling, flowing, or rushing headlong: lacking deliberation: overhasty: (med.) ending soon in death.—n. (chem.) a part of a solution, falling or causing to fall to the bottom.—n. Precipitabil′ity.—adj. Precip′itable (chem.), that may be precipitated.—ns. Precip′itance, Precip′itancy, quality of being precipitate: haste in resolving or executing a purpose.—adj. Precip′itant, falling headlong: rushing down with too great velocity: hasty: unexpectedly brought on.—n. anything that causes part of a solution to fall to the bottom.—advs. Precip′itantly; Precip′itātely, in a precipitate manner: headlong: without due thought.—n. Precipitā′tion, act of precipitating: great hurry: rash haste: rapid movement: (chem.) the process by which any substance is made to separate from another in solution, and fall to the bottom.—adj. Precip′itātive.—n. Precipitā′tor, one who, or that which, precipitates or causes precipitation.—Precipitate ointment is of two kinds, red and white—the former containing red oxide of mercury, the latter ammoniated mercury. [L. præcipitāre, -ātum—præceps.]
Précis, prā-sē′, n. a precise or abridged statement: an abstract: summary. [Fr.]
Precise, prē-sīs′, adj. definite: exact: not vague: just of the right amount or measure: adhering too much to rule: excessively nice, punctilious, prim.—adv. Precise′ly.—ns. Precise′ness; Preci′sian, an over-precise person: a formalist: a puritan; Preci′sianism; Preci′sianist, Preci′sionist, a precisian; Preci′sion, quality of being precise: exactness: accuracy.—v.t. Preci′sionise, to make precise.—adj. Precī′sive, cutting off: pertaining to precision. [Fr. précis—L. præcisus, pa.p. of præcidĕre—præ, before, cædĕre, to cut.]
Preclassical, prē-klas′i-kal, adj. previous to the classical time or usage.
Preclude, prē-klud′, v.t. to shut out beforehand: to hinder by anticipation: to keep back: to prevent from taking place.—n. Preclū′sion, act of precluding or hindering: state of being precluded.—adj. Preclū′sive, tending to preclude: hindering beforehand.—adv. Preclū′sively. [L. præcludĕre, -clusum—præ, before, claudĕre, to shut.]
Precocious, prē-kō′shus, adj. having the mind developed very early, or too early: premature: forward: (bot.) appearing before the leaves.—adv. Precō′ciously.—ns. Precō′ciousness, Precoc′ity, state or quality of being precocious: too early ripeness of the mind. [L. præcox, præcocis—præ, before, coquĕre, to cook.]
Precognition, prē-kog-nish′un, n. cognition, knowledge, or examination beforehand: (Scots law) an examination of witnesses as to whether there is ground for prosecution.—v.t. Precognosce (prē-kog-nos′), to examine witnesses beforehand: to take a precognition.