precept means A rule or principle, especially one governing personal conduct. It carries an Arena rating of 1659, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, precept ranks #1,010 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,723 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #3,915 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,593 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
precept is pronounced /ˈpɹiːsɛpt/.
Why “precept” is a great word
A general rule or principle, especially one intended to regulate behavior or thought. From the Late Latin praeceptum ("maxim, rule"), from Latin praecipiō ("to teach, instruct"), from prae- ("before") + capiō ("to take"), first attested in English in the late 14th century. Unlike a principle, which is a foundational truth, or a regulation, an official decree, a precept is a distilled guideline for living, often passed from teacher to pupil. It is the carved tablet at the monastery gate, the father's terse counsel before the journey, the single line underlined in a much-worn book: not the architecture of belief, but the handhold you actually use in the dark.
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin praeceptum, form of praecipiō (“to teach”), from Latin prae (“pre-”) + capiō (“take”).
noun
- A rule or principle, especially one governing personal conduct.e.g.“Precept guides, but example draws.”
- A written command, especially a demand for payment.
- An order issued by one local authority to another specifying the rate of tax to be charged on its behalf.
- A tax rate set by such an order; the tax thus collected.e.g.“The Parish Council is financed by raising a small levy - the precept - on all residential properties within the parish.” — 2019, “Medstead Parish Council”, in Medstead Parish Council website, archived from the original on 07 Jul 2019:
verb
- To act as a preceptor; to teach a physician-in-training by supervising their clinical practice.
- To teach (something) by precepts.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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