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8 results for: precipice

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
prec·i·pice    Audio Help   [pres-uh-pis] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a cliff with a vertical, nearly vertical, or overhanging face.
2.a situation of great peril: on the precipice of war.
[Origin: 1590–1600; < MF < L praecipitium steep place, equiv. to praecipit- (s. of praeceps) steep, headlong (prae- pre- + -cipit-, comb.form of caput head; see caput) + -ium -ium]

—Related forms
prec·i·piced, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
precipice

To learn more about precipice visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
prec·i·pice    Audio Help   (prěs'ə-pĭs)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. An overhanging or extremely steep mass of rock, such as a crag or the face of a cliff.
  2. The brink of a dangerous or disastrous situation: on the precipice of defeat.


[French précipice, from Latin praecipitium, from praeceps, praecipit-, headlong; see precipitate.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
precipice 
1598, "fall to great depth," from Fr. précipice, from L. præcipitium "a steep place," lit. "a fall or leap," from præceps (gen. præcipitis) "steep, headlong, headfirst," from præ- "forth" + caput "head" (see head). Meaning "steep face of rock" is recorded from 1632.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
precipice

noun
a very steep cliff 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
precipice [ˈpresipis] noun
a steep cliff
Arabic: جُرْف، هاويَه
Chinese (Simplified): 悬崖
Chinese (Traditional): 懸崖
Czech: propast
Danish: stejl klippe
Dutch: afgrond
Estonian: järsak
Finnish: jyrkänne
French: précipice
German: die Klippe
Greek: γκρεμός
Hungarian: szakadék
Icelandic: þverhnípi
Indonesian: tebing
Italian: precipizio
Japanese: がけ
Korean: 절벽, 벼랑
Latvian: krauja
Lithuanian: praraja, skardis
Norwegian: stup, bratt skrent
Polish: przepaść
Portuguese (Brazil): precipício
Portuguese (Portugal): precipício
Romanian: pră­pas­tie; perete abrupt
Russian: обрыв
Slovak: priepasť
Slovenian: prepad
Spanish: precipicio
Swedish: brant, stup, avgrund
Turkish: uçurum
See also: precipitous

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Precipice

Prec"i*pice\, n. [F. pr['e]cipice, L. praecipitium, fr. praeceps, -cipitis, headlong; prae before + caput, capitis, the head. See Pre-, and Chief.]

1. A sudden or headlong fall. [Obs.] --Fuller.

2. A headlong steep; a very steep, perpendicular, or overhanging place; an abrupt declivity; a cliff.

Where wealth like fruit on precipices grew. --Dryden.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Dictionary.com Word of the Day Archive - Cite This Source - Share This

precipice

precipice was Word of the Day on May 19, 2002.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

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