Précocité
/pʁe.kɔ.si.te/noun
The quality of developing, maturing, or appearing earlier than is usual.
Did you know?Précocité ultimately comes from Latin praecoquere, “to cook or ripen beforehand,” linking early talent and early maturity to the language of heat and transformation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pekw-
“To cook, ripen, or mature through heat”
Classical Latin
Latin
praecoquere
“To cook or ripen beforehand”
Classical Latin
Latin
praecox
“Early-ripening; prematurely mature”
16th Century
French
précoce
“Early-maturing or unusually early in development”
18th Century
French
précocité
“The quality of being précoce; early maturity”
Modern French
French
précocité
“Precocity or unusually early development”