Definition of PRECOCIOUS (original) (raw)
1
: exceptionally early in development or occurrence
2
: exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age
Did you know?
Precocious got its start in Latin when the prefix prae-, meaning "ahead of," was combined with the verb coquere, meaning "to cook" or "to ripen." Together, they formed the adjective praecox, which meant "early ripening" or "premature." By the mid-1600s, English speakers had turned praecox into precocious and were using it especially to describe plants that produced blossoms before their leaves came out. Within decades, precocious was also being used to describe humans who developed skills or talents sooner than others typically did. Pop music lovers may recall the lyric "She’s precocious!" from "Bette Davis Eyes," although the song itself was something of a late bloomer: originally released in 1974 by Jackie DeShannon (and cowritten by DeShannon and Donna Weiss), it didn’t become a hit until Kim Carnes’ Grammy Award-winning version was released in 1981.
Synonyms
Examples of precocious in a Sentence
But what has paleontologists agog is this googol-granddaddy's precocious attributes: most notably the relative flatness of its face, which is more modern-looking than skulls half its age. —
Fred Guterl, Newsweek, 22 July 2002 As a boy, I had caught eight-inch-long, juvenile "snapper" blues in Barnegat Bay and marveled at the uncommon strength and speed and the precocious attack instinct within their slender, silver bodies. —Pete Bodo, New York Times, 8 July 2001 … Columbus was still sailing the ocean blue and American English, frisky and rambunctious as a precocious child, was as yet unborn. —Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2000 … no longer certain that my blackness gave me precocious wisdom, or that I could outslick these folks … —Lorene Cary, Black Ice, 1991
She was a precocious child who could read before she went to school. A precocious musician, he was giving concerts when he was seven.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Well, at age 7, O'Brien won a special juvenile Oscar for playing Garland’s precocious kid sister in the film. —Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2025 Robert Eggers first encountered F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu at the precocious age of 9 after seeing a photo of Max Schreck in costume as Count Orlok, an unauthorized take on Dracula who’s gone on to become as iconic as any rendition of Bram Stoker’s vampire. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 22 Jan. 2025 In the doc, Winkler recalls his first encounter with the precocious Matlin and how their friendship evolved to the point of roommates. —Jack Smart, People.com, 25 Jan. 2025 Vann describes himself as a precocious introvert who wants to learn the ways of the land. —Adam Solomons, IndieWire, 25 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for precocious 
Word History
Etymology
Latin praecoc-, praecox early ripening, precocious, from prae- + coquere to cook — more at cook
First Known Use
1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of precocious was in 1650
Dictionary Entries Near precocious
Cite this Entry
“Precocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precocious. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
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Last Updated: 12 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences
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