Precocious
/prɪˈkoʊ.ʃəs/noun
Having developed certain abilities or traits earlier than usual.
Did you know?Precocious comes from Latin praecox, which originally described fruit that ripened early, and the same root also gave English the idea of things arriving before their natural time.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
praecox
“ripening early; early ripe”
Late Latin
Latin
praecoc-
“early ripening, precocious”
16th Century
English
precocious
“early ripening or prematurely developed”
18th Century
English
precocious
“showing advanced ability or maturity at an unusually early age”
Modern English
English
precocious
“having developed earlier than is usual or expected”