precipice means A very steep cliff. It carries an Arena rating of 1938, earned across 28 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, precipice ranks #185 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #381 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #382 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #533 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
precipice is pronounced /ˈpɹɛsɪpɪs/.
Why “precipice” is a great word
A very steep or overhanging cliff, or metaphorically, the brink of a dangerous or critical situation. From Middle French precipice, from Latin praecipitium ('a steep place'), from praeceps ('steep, headlong'), from prae- ('before, forth') + caput ('head'), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- ('head'); first attested in English in 1598. Unlike 'cliff,' which names a general fact of geography, or 'brink,' which merely denotes an edge, a precipice implies a verticality so absolute it pulls at the gut, a metaphysical ledge from which there is no lateral retreat. It is the granite wall where the mountain path simply ceases, the dizzying void beyond the last handhold, the terrible clarity of a decision that cannot be unmade—a word for the moment gravity wins its argument with hope.
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”).
noun
- A very steep cliff.e.g.“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[…]” — 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC:
- The brink of a dangerous situation.e.g.“to stand on a precipice”
- A headlong fall or descent.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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