precipitous

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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World English Dictionary

precipitous (prɪˈsɪpɪtəs)

—*adj*
1.	resembling a precipice or characterized by precipices
2.	very steep
3.	hasty or precipitate

usage The use of precipitous to mean hasty is thought by some people to be incorrect

pre'cipitously

—*adv*

pre'cipitousness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

precipitous

1640s, "rash, headlong," from obs. Fr. precipiteux (16c.), from V.L. *praecipitosus, from praecipitare (see precipitation). Precipitate (adj.) "hasty" is attested from 1650s.

Example sentences

They soon quitted the little valley, and involved themselves among hills as

steep as they could be without being precipitous.

The researchers say they were surprised at how quick and precipitous was the

fall in resistance.

The series examined the reasons for Detroit's precipitous decline.

There is only what seems to me a rather low protective barrier given the

precipitous drop into the deep valleys below.

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Related Words

bluff escarpment Gibraltar gradual

precipitate scar scarry sheer

Matching Quote

"While we were crossing this bay, where Mount Kineo rose dark before us, within two or three miles, the Indian repeated the tradition respecting this mountain's having anciently been a cow moose,—how a mighty Indian hunter, whose name I forget, succeeded in killing this queen of the moose tribe with great difficulty,... and, to his eyes, this mountain had still the form of the moose in a reclining posture, its precipitous side presenting the outline of her head.... An Indian tells such a story as if he thought it deserved to have a good deal said about it, only he has not got it to say, and so he makes up for the deficiency by a drawling tone, long-windedness, and a dumb wonder which he hopes will be contagious."

-Henry David Thoreau