precariousadj.

Brit.

/prᵻˈkɛːrɪəs/, U.S.

/prəˈkɛriəs/

Origin: A borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymons: Latin precārius , -ous suffix.

Etymology: < classical Latin precārius given as a favour, depending on the favour of another, (of property) held by tenancy at will, uncertain, doubtful, suppliant ( < prec- , prex prayer, entreaty (see preces n.) + -ārius -ary suffix¹) + -ous suffix. Compare French précaire (of a right, tenancy, etc.) held or enjoyed by the favour of and at the pleasure of another person (1336 in an isolated attestation in Middle French as precoire, subsequently from a1585), exposed to risk, insecure, unstable (1618).With sense 1 compare earlier precary adj. With senses 3 and 4 compare precatorious adj. and earlier precatory adj.

1. Esp. of a right, tenancy, etc.: held or enjoyed by the favour of and at the pleasure of another person; vulnerable to the will or decision of others. Also figurative. Now rare or merged in other senses, except in technical use with reference to tenancies.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective]

unsicker?c1225

uncertaina1382

unsadc1384

untristya1387

untrustya1387

unsurec1412

falliblec1425

slipperc1430

ficklea1450

frivol1488

slidder?a1500

casuala1535

slippery1548

slippy1548

failable1561

doubtful1562

lubricious1584

slope1587

queasy1589

unconfirmedc1592

nice1598

catching1603

loose1603

precary1606

ambiguous1612

treacherous1612

unsafe1615

unsureda1616

precarious1626

lubric1631

dubious1635

lubricous1646

unestablished1646

unfixed1654

unsecure?a1685

unreliable1810

unproven1836

untrustworthy1846

shady1848

wobbly1877

Kaffir1899

independable1921

dodgy1961

temperamental1962

1626 T. Aylesbury Passion Serm. 7 When in Christs Time the Scepter was wrested out of the Iewes hands: Their King a beneficiary, and precarious King: With all their hearts they wished for the Messias.

1638 G. Langbaine tr. G. Ranchin Rev. Councell Trent vi. ii. 311 Bishops who loose that which belongs unto them, having it onely by way of loan, or in a precarious manner [Fr. en nom de precaire].

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica 26 With more excusable reservation may we shrink at their bare testimonies, whose argument is but precarious and subsists upon the charity of our assentments.

1673 W. Temple Observ. United Provinces i. 48 Out of indignation to see himself but a precarious Governour, without force or Dependance.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 256. ¶10 This little Happiness is so very precarious, that it wholly depends on the Will of others.

1773 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. II. iii. i. §25 As a precarious loan may be recalled at the lender's pleasure, even at a time that may prove hurtful to the borrower, the borrower is liable only de dolo et culpa later.

1878 W. E. Hearn Aryan Househ. xviii. §5. 425 His holding was, in the language of the Roman lawyers, ‘precarious’, that is, upon his request to the owner, and with that owner's leave.

1958 Amer. Hist. Rev. 64 47 The poor peasant population carried on its existence cultivating a few small and scattered plots through a system of precarious tenancy.

1998 J. McManners Church & Society 18th-cent. France I. i. iv. 102 Economic thinkers condemned this rule as a hindrance to efficient agriculture, since farmers on a precarious tenure are unlikely to embark on major improvements.

a. Of a line of argument, inference, opinion, etc.: insecurely founded or reasoned, doubtful, dubious.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [adjective] > fallacious > begged or assumed without proof

precarious1642

entreated1646

petitionary1646

petitory1830

1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. E4^v The foundation of that argument will but prove precarious.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica ii. iii. 78 Though honest minds do glorifie God hereby, yet do they most powerfully magnifie him..who not from postulated or precarious inferences, entreate a courteous assent, but from experiments and undeniable effects, enforce the wonder of its Maker.

1659 H. More Immortality of Soul ii. x. 216 That the Fabrick of the Body is out of the concurse of Atomes, is a meer precarious Opinion, without any ground or reason.

1749 J. Wesley Let. 4 Jan. (1931) II. 334 Consequently, as you gather up more mistakes every step you take, every page is more precarious than the former.

1779 J. Wesley Wks. (1830) IV. 148 Quite unproved, quite precarious from beginning to end.

1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 181 His mode of proof is precarious and unsatisfactory.

1882 F. W. Farrar Early Days Christianity II. 506 Such an inference is most precarious.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 655/2 The elements of this disparate pair, calculated by Dr Vogel on the somewhat precarious assumption that its dark and bright members are of equal mean density.

1946 E. A. Armstrong Shakespeare's Imagination viii. 69 The line of exposition adopted sets forth an admittedly precarious argument.

2001 Los Angeles (Nexis) 29 Jan. b1 A recently unveiled plan to expand Los Angeles International Airport assumes that other airports in the region..will meet Los Angeles halfway in picking up the increased demand for air service. That may prove to be a precarious assumption.

b. Dependent on chance or circumstance; uncertain; liable to fail; exposed to risk, hazardous; insecure, unstable.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective] > insecure > precarious

parlous1558

kittle1568

tickle1569

ticklesome1585

queasy1589

ticklish1591

climacterial1606

precipitious1613

touchy1620

climacterica1633

critical1669

precarious1687

touch and go1800

dicey1950

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective] > unpredictable

contingentc1400

casualc1460

whimsical1654

precarious1687

ambiguous1759

incalculable1796

uncalculable1848

chancy1860

impredicable1864

fluky1880

aleatoric1921

contingency1931

iffy1937

1687 Bp. S. Parker in R. L'Estrange Reply Reasons against Addressing 17 When they see us owning the Exercise of our Established Religion to be so precarious.

1700 J. Astry tr. D. de Saavedra Fajardo Royal Politician II. 378 His Empire is accounted precarious, and short lived.

1715 J. Browne & W. Oldisworth State Tracts I. 266 War is a precarious undertaking.

1794 S. Williams Nat. & Civil Hist. Vermont 136 They afforded them but a scanty and precarious support.

1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Calderon i His health was infirm and his life precarious.

1879 J. T. Rogers in Cassell's Techn. Educator IV. 87/2 There is no article in demand the value of which is so precarious as that of a book.

1894 H. Drummond Lowell Lect. Ascent of Man 253 The fisherman's life is a precarious life; he becomes hardy, resolute, self-reliant.

1914 Eng. Hist. Rev. Apr. 256 The precarious health of Elizabeth..made it desirable to play a waiting game in the east.

1962 John o' London's 10 May 456/2 A seedy..individual who makes a precarious living by writing ‘porn’.

1995 New Yorker 4 Sept. 70/3 The war left Graves in a precarious state, shell-shocked and suffering from severe war neurosis.

c. Subject to or fraught with physical danger or insecurity; at risk of falling, collapse, or similar accident; unsound, unsafe, rickety.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective] > full of risk

adventurousa1375

jeopardous1451

jeopardious?1504

hazardous1549

venturous1570

hazardly1575

chanceful1591

unsafe1597

venturable1597

hazard1601

desperatea1616

hazardable1618

hazardful1626

discriminous1658

venturesome1661

precarious1727

riskful1793

risky1813

1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies II. xliii. 122 There are so many Banks and Rocks under Water, that Navigation is very precarious.

1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. i. 9 Forming a slippery and precarious passage for two men abreast to cross the moat.

1827 W. Scott Highland Widow in Chron. Canongate 1st Ser. I. xii. 240 The precarious track through the morass, the dizzy path along the edge of the precipice.

1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer xxix. 223 Huck..planted his foot carefully and firmly, after balancing, one-legged, in a precarious way and almost toppling over.

1919 Times 22 Apr. 14/3 Phyllis is evidently no longer contented with a precarious pillion seat on Jack's motor-cycle.

1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 285 A temporary Plaza de Toros had been built,..a circular fence with a precarious grandstand on the shadier side.

1989 Scots Mag. June 301 (caption) A group of wild goats, well-adapted to this precarious habitat.

2002 Ringing World 2 Aug. 808/3 As churchwarden he would climb with the rector and others up the precarious steps into the bellframe.

†3. Suppliant, supplicating; importunate. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > request > [adjective] > importunate

onwileOE

importune?1406

instant1477

importunate1529

urgent1548

important1591

importuning1599

instancing1606

clamorous1621

precarious1655

craving1668

clamanta1687

1655 H. L'Estrange Reign King Charles 120 He was almost at the point of desperation, as to prevailing with the Emperour by precarious applications.

1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada i. i. i. 9 What Subjects will precarious Kings regard: A Begger speaks too softly to be heard.

1697 in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 48 Sir Edmund Andros knows nothing of this right he has jure devoluto, or else he would not suffer the clergy to be so precarious.

1753 S. Johnson Adventurer No. 119. 290 Every man..knows himself a necessitous and precarious being, incessantly solliciting the assistance of others.

†4. Of or relating to a precarium (precarium n. 2). Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > transfer of property > types of transfer > [adjective] > precarial

precarious1694

precatorious1694

precarial1914

1694 tr. L. Moréri Great Hist. Dict. at Precary They afterwards obtained of the same Churches, by Letters which they called precarious or precatorious Letters, the same Estates again, to enjoy them by a kind of Emphyteotick Security, i.e. to improve them.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	precarious
释义	precariousadj. Brit. /prᵻˈkɛːrɪəs/, U.S. /prəˈkɛriəs/ Origin: A borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymons: Latin precārius , -ous suffix. Etymology: < classical Latin precārius given as a favour, depending on the favour of another, (of property) held by tenancy at will, uncertain, doubtful, suppliant ( < prec- , prex prayer, entreaty (see preces n.) + -ārius -ary suffix¹) + -ous suffix. Compare French précaire (of a right, tenancy, etc.) held or enjoyed by the favour of and at the pleasure of another person (1336 in an isolated attestation in Middle French as precoire, subsequently from a1585), exposed to risk, insecure, unstable (1618).With sense 1 compare earlier precary adj. With senses 3 and 4 compare precatorious adj. and earlier precatory adj. 1. Esp. of a right, tenancy, etc.: held or enjoyed by the favour of and at the pleasure of another person; vulnerable to the will or decision of others. Also figurative. Now rare or merged in other senses, except in technical use with reference to tenancies. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective] unsicker?c1225 uncertaina1382 unsadc1384 untristya1387 untrustya1387 unsurec1412 falliblec1425 slipperc1430 ficklea1450 frivol1488 slidder?a1500 casuala1535 slippery1548 slippy1548 failable1561 doubtful1562 lubricious1584 slope1587 queasy1589 unconfirmedc1592 nice1598 catching1603 loose1603 precary1606 ambiguous1612 treacherous1612 unsafe1615 unsureda1616 precarious1626 lubric1631 dubious1635 lubricous1646 unestablished1646 unfixed1654 unsecure?a1685 unreliable1810 unproven1836 untrustworthy1846 shady1848 wobbly1877 Kaffir1899 independable1921 dodgy1961 temperamental1962 1626 T. Aylesbury Passion Serm. 7 When in Christs Time the Scepter was wrested out of the Iewes hands: Their King a beneficiary, and precarious King: With all their hearts they wished for the Messias. 1638 G. Langbaine tr. G. Ranchin Rev. Councell Trent vi. ii. 311 Bishops who loose that which belongs unto them, having it onely by way of loan, or in a precarious manner [Fr. en nom de precaire]. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica 26 With more excusable reservation may we shrink at their bare testimonies, whose argument is but precarious and subsists upon the charity of our assentments. View more context for this quotation 1673 W. Temple Observ. United Provinces i. 48 Out of indignation to see himself but a precarious Governour, without force or Dependance. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 256. ¶10 This little Happiness is so very precarious, that it wholly depends on the Will of others. 1773 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. II. iii. i. §25 As a precarious loan may be recalled at the lender's pleasure, even at a time that may prove hurtful to the borrower, the borrower is liable only de dolo et culpa later. 1878 W. E. Hearn Aryan Househ. xviii. §5. 425 His holding was, in the language of the Roman lawyers, ‘precarious’, that is, upon his request to the owner, and with that owner's leave. 1958 Amer. Hist. Rev. 64 47 The poor peasant population carried on its existence cultivating a few small and scattered plots through a system of precarious tenancy. 1998 J. McManners Church & Society 18th-cent. France I. i. iv. 102 Economic thinkers condemned this rule as a hindrance to efficient agriculture, since farmers on a precarious tenure are unlikely to embark on major improvements. 2. a. Of a line of argument, inference, opinion, etc.: insecurely founded or reasoned, doubtful, dubious. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [adjective] > fallacious > begged or assumed without proof precarious1642 entreated1646 petitionary1646 petitory1830 1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. E4^v The foundation of that argument will but prove precarious. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica ii. iii. 78 Though honest minds do glorifie God hereby, yet do they most powerfully magnifie him..who not from postulated or precarious inferences, entreate a courteous assent, but from experiments and undeniable effects, enforce the wonder of its Maker. View more context for this quotation 1659 H. More Immortality of Soul ii. x. 216 That the Fabrick of the Body is out of the concurse of Atomes, is a meer precarious Opinion, without any ground or reason. 1749 J. Wesley Let. 4 Jan. (1931) II. 334 Consequently, as you gather up more mistakes every step you take, every page is more precarious than the former. 1779 J. Wesley Wks. (1830) IV. 148 Quite unproved, quite precarious from beginning to end. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 181 His mode of proof is precarious and unsatisfactory. 1882 F. W. Farrar Early Days Christianity II. 506 Such an inference is most precarious. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 655/2 The elements of this disparate pair, calculated by Dr Vogel on the somewhat precarious assumption that its dark and bright members are of equal mean density. 1946 E. A. Armstrong Shakespeare's Imagination viii. 69 The line of exposition adopted sets forth an admittedly precarious argument. 2001 Los Angeles (Nexis) 29 Jan. b1 A recently unveiled plan to expand Los Angeles International Airport assumes that other airports in the region..will meet Los Angeles halfway in picking up the increased demand for air service. That may prove to be a precarious assumption. b. Dependent on chance or circumstance; uncertain; liable to fail; exposed to risk, hazardous; insecure, unstable. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective] > insecure > precarious parlous1558 kittle1568 tickle1569 ticklesome1585 queasy1589 ticklish1591 climacterial1606 precipitious1613 touchy1620 climacterica1633 critical1669 precarious1687 touch and go1800 dicey1950 the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective] > unpredictable contingentc1400 casualc1460 whimsical1654 precarious1687 ambiguous1759 incalculable1796 uncalculable1848 chancy1860 impredicable1864 fluky1880 aleatoric1921 contingency1931 iffy1937 1687 Bp. S. Parker in R. L'Estrange Reply Reasons against Addressing 17 When they see us owning the Exercise of our Established Religion to be so precarious. 1700 J. Astry tr. D. de Saavedra Fajardo Royal Politician II. 378 His Empire is accounted precarious, and short lived. 1715 J. Browne & W. Oldisworth State Tracts I. 266 War is a precarious undertaking. 1794 S. Williams Nat. & Civil Hist. Vermont 136 They afforded them but a scanty and precarious support. 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Calderon i His health was infirm and his life precarious. 1879 J. T. Rogers in Cassell's Techn. Educator IV. 87/2 There is no article in demand the value of which is so precarious as that of a book. 1894 H. Drummond Lowell Lect. Ascent of Man 253 The fisherman's life is a precarious life; he becomes hardy, resolute, self-reliant. 1914 Eng. Hist. Rev. Apr. 256 The precarious health of Elizabeth..made it desirable to play a waiting game in the east. 1962 John o' London's 10 May 456/2 A seedy..individual who makes a precarious living by writing ‘porn’. 1995 New Yorker 4 Sept. 70/3 The war left Graves in a precarious state, shell-shocked and suffering from severe war neurosis. c. Subject to or fraught with physical danger or insecurity; at risk of falling, collapse, or similar accident; unsound, unsafe, rickety. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective] > full of risk adventurousa1375 jeopardous1451 jeopardious?1504 hazardous1549 venturous1570 hazardly1575 chanceful1591 unsafe1597 venturable1597 hazard1601 desperatea1616 hazardable1618 hazardful1626 discriminous1658 venturesome1661 precarious1727 riskful1793 risky1813 1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies II. xliii. 122 There are so many Banks and Rocks under Water, that Navigation is very precarious. 1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. i. 9 Forming a slippery and precarious passage for two men abreast to cross the moat. 1827 W. Scott Highland Widow in Chron. Canongate 1st Ser. I. xii. 240 The precarious track through the morass, the dizzy path along the edge of the precipice. 1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer xxix. 223 Huck..planted his foot carefully and firmly, after balancing, one-legged, in a precarious way and almost toppling over. 1919 Times 22 Apr. 14/3 Phyllis is evidently no longer contented with a precarious pillion seat on Jack's motor-cycle. 1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 285 A temporary Plaza de Toros had been built,..a circular fence with a precarious grandstand on the shadier side. 1989 Scots Mag. June 301 (caption) A group of wild goats, well-adapted to this precarious habitat. 2002 Ringing World 2 Aug. 808/3 As churchwarden he would climb with the rector and others up the precarious steps into the bellframe. †3. Suppliant, supplicating; importunate. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > request > [adjective] > importunate onwileOE importune?1406 instant1477 importunate1529 urgent1548 important1591 importuning1599 instancing1606 clamorous1621 precarious1655 craving1668 clamanta1687 1655 H. L'Estrange Reign King Charles 120 He was almost at the point of desperation, as to prevailing with the Emperour by precarious applications. 1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada i. i. i. 9 What Subjects will precarious Kings regard: A Begger speaks too softly to be heard. 1697 in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 48 Sir Edmund Andros knows nothing of this right he has jure devoluto, or else he would not suffer the clergy to be so precarious. 1753 S. Johnson Adventurer No. 119. 290 Every man..knows himself a necessitous and precarious being, incessantly solliciting the assistance of others. †4. Of or relating to a precarium (precarium n. 2). Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > law > transfer of property > types of transfer > [adjective] > precarial precarious1694 precatorious1694 precarial1914 1694 tr. L. Moréri Great Hist. Dict. at Precary They afterwards obtained of the same Churches, by Letters which they called precarious or precatorious Letters, the same Estates again, to enjoy them by a kind of Emphyteotick Security, i.e. to improve them. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adj.1626
随便看	θ81381 θ81382 θ81383 θ81384 θ81385 θ81386 θ81387 θ81388 θ81389 θ8139 θ81390 θ81391 θ81392 θ81393 θ81394 θ81395 θ81396 θ81397 θ81398 θ81399 θ814 θ8140 θ81400 θ81401 θ81402