LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
verbthird (-iō variant) conjugation

praecipiō

praecipiō (present infinitive praecipere, perfect active praecēpī, supine praeceptum)
Classical[prae̯ˈkɪ.pi.oː]Ecclesiastical[preˈt͡ʃiː.pi.o]
praeceptus perf. pass. ptcp.№ 945 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. to take or seize beforehand, in advance
  2. to anticipate
  3. to enjoin, direct, order, command
    iustitia autem praecipit parcere omnibusHowever, justice commands us to be lenient to all106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, De Republica 3.24
    illud potius praecipiendum fuit, ut eam diligentiam adhiberemus in amicitiis comparandisIt was commanded that we shall use diligence in the making of friends44 BCE, Cicero, Laelius de amicitia 60
  4. to teach, instruct, advise, inform, warn
    Interrogābis fortasse quid ego faciam quī tibi ista praecipiō.You will ask, perhaps, what I will do, [since it is] I who am giving you this advice.c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium 1.1.4

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

doceō et iubeō; magister discipulīs praecipit.
praecipiō -ere praecēpī — in Mille Verba, Artēs et Litterae

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Jubere · Imperare · Præcipere · Mandare

Jubere (from ἰότης) means to bid, merely in consequence of one’s own wish and will, in opp. to vetare, like κελεύειν; imperare, to command, by virtue of a military supreme authority, like ἄρχειν; præcipere to enjoin, by virtue of an authority as a teacher, etc., something like ἐντέλλεσθαι; mandare (from μήδομαι) to charge, in consequence of thorough confidence in a person, like ἐφίεσθαι.

Conjugation

active indicative
formpresentimperfectfutureperfectpluperfectfut. perfect
1st sg.praecipiōpraecipiēbampraecipiampraecēpīpraecēperampraecēperō
2nd sg.praecipispraecipiēbāspraecipiēspraecēpistīpraecēperāspraecēperis
3rd sg.praecipitpraecipiēbatpraecipietpraecēpitpraecēperatpraecēperit
1st pl.praecipimuspraecipiēbāmuspraecipiēmuspraecēpimuspraecēperāmuspraecēperimus
2nd pl.praecipitispraecipiēbātispraecipiētispraecēpistispraecēperātispraecēperitis
3rd pl.praecipiuntpraecipiēbantpraecipientpraecēpērunt
praecēpēre		praecēperantpraecēperint
active subjunctive
active subjunctive
formpresentimperfectperfectpluperfect
1st sg.praecipiampraeciperempraecēperimpraecēpissem
2nd sg.praecipiāspraeciperēspraecēperīspraecēpissēs
3rd sg.praecipiatpraeciperetpraecēperitpraecēpisset
1st pl.praecipiāmuspraeciperēmuspraecēperīmuspraecēpissēmus
2nd pl.praecipiātispraeciperētispraecēperītispraecēpissētis
3rd pl.praecipiantpraeciperentpraecēperintpraecēpissent
passive indicative
passive indicative
formpresentimperfectfuture
1st sg.praecipiorpraecipiēbarpraecipiar
2nd sg.praeciperis
praecipere		praecipiēbāris
praecipiēbāre		praecipiēris
praecipiēre
3rd sg.praecipiturpraecipiēbāturpraecipiētur
1st pl.praecipimurpraecipiēbāmurpraecipiēmur
2nd pl.praecipiminīpraecipiēbāminīpraecipiēminī
3rd pl.praecipiunturpraecipiēbanturpraecipientur
passive subjunctive
passive subjunctive
formpresentimperfect
1st sg.praecipiarpraeciperer
2nd sg.praecipiāris
praecipiāre		praeciperēris
praeciperēre
3rd sg.praecipiāturpraeciperētur
1st pl.praecipiāmurpraeciperēmur
2nd pl.praecipiāminīpraeciperēminī
3rd pl.praecipianturpraeciperentur
imperative
imperative
formactivepassive
pres. 2nd sg.praecipepraecipere
pres. 2nd pl.praecipitepraecipiminī
fut. 2nd sg.praecipitōpraecipitor
fut. 3rd sg.praecipitōpraecipitor
fut. 2nd pl.praecipitōte—
fut. 3rd pl.praecipiuntōpraecipiuntor
infinitives & participles
formactivepassive
present infinitivepraeciperepraecipī
perfect infinitivepraecēpissepraeceptum esse
future infinitivepraeceptūrum essepraeceptum īrī
present participlepraecipiēns—
perfect participle—praeceptus
praecepta, praeceptā, praeceptae, praeceptam, praeceptārum, praeceptās, praecepte, praeceptī, praeceptīs, praeceptō, praeceptōrum, praeceptōs
future participlepraeceptūrus
praeceptūra, praeceptūrā, praeceptūrae, praeceptūram, praeceptūrārum, praeceptūrās, praeceptūre, praeceptūrī, praeceptūrīs, praeceptūrō, praeceptūrōrum, praeceptūrōs, praeceptūrum		praecipiendus
praecipiundus, praecipienda, praecipiendā, praecipiendae, praecipiendam, praecipiendārum, praecipiendās, praecipiende, praecipiendīs, praecipiendōrum, praecipiendōs
gerundpraecipiendī, praecipiendō, praecipiendumsupinepraeceptum, praeceptū

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

de virtute praecipere alicui
to give moral advice, rules of conduct.
bene (male) praecipere alicui
to inculcate good (bad) principles.
bene illo Graecorum proverbio praecipitur
that Greek proverb contains an excellent lesson.
victoriam praecipere (animo) (Liv. 10. 26)
to consider oneself already victor.
ad praecipiendi rationem delābi (Q. Fr. 1. 1. 6. 18)
to adopt a didactic tone.
animo, cogitatione aliquid praecipere (Off 1. 23. 81)
to form a conception of a thing beforehand.

prae-cĭpĭo, cēpi, ceptum, 3, v. a. capio,
I. to take or seize beforehand, to get or receive in advance (class., esp. in the trop. sense; syn.: anticipo, praeoccupo).
I. Lit.
A. In gen., Lucr. 6, 1050: nisi aquam praecepimus ante, id. 6, 804: a publicanis pecuniam insequentis anni mutuam praeceperat, Caes. B. C. 3, 31: aliquantum viae, to get the start somewhat, Liv. 36, 19: longius spatium fugā, id. 22, 41 fin.: iter, id. 3, 46: Piraeeum quinqueremibus, to preoccupy, id. 32, 16, 5: mons a Lusitanis praeceptus, Sall. Fragm. ap. Gell. 10, 26, 3: si lac praeceperit aestus, i. e. have previously dried up, Verg. E. 3, 98.—
B. In partic., in jurid. lang, to receive (esp. an inheritance or bequest) in advance, Plin. Ep. 5, 7, 4: si heres centum praecipere jussus sit, Dig. 30, 122; so ib. 36, 1, 63: quantitatem dotis, ib. 17, 2, 81: dotem, ib. 10, 2, 46: per praeceptionem hoc modo legamus: Lucius Titius hominem Stichum praecipito, Gai. Inst. 2, 216. —
II. Trop.
A. In gen., to take or obtain in advance, to anticipate: aliquantum ad fugam temporis Syphax et Hasdrubal praeceperunt, gained some advantage in time, Liv. 30, 8 fin.: tempus, id. 1, 7: celeres neu praecipe Parcas, do not hasten in advance of, do not anticipate, Stat. Th. 8, 328; so, veneno fata praecepit, Flor. 3, 9, 4: praecipio gaudia suppliciorum vestrorum, I rejoice in advance, Anton. ap. Cic. Phil. 13, 20, 45; Hirt. B. G. 8, 51; cf. Liv. 45, 1, 1: jam animo victoriam praecipiebant, figured to themselves beforehand, Caes. B. C. 3, 87 fin.; Liv. 10, 26: spe jam praecipit hostem, Verg. A. 11, 491: praecipere cogitatione futura, to conjecture or imagine beforehand, Cic. Off. 1, 23, 81: omnia, Verg. A. 6, 105; cf.: haec usu ventura opinione praeceperat, had already suspected, Caes. B. G. 7, 9: sed alterum mihi est certius, nec praecipiam tamen, Cic. Att. 10, 1, 2.—
B. In partic., to give rules or precepts to any one, to advise, admonish, warn, inform, instruct, teach; to enjoin, direct, bid, order, etc. (syn.: mando, impero, doceo): vilici officia, quae dominus praecepit, Cato, R. R. 142: Philocomasio id praecipiendum est, ut sciat, Plaut. Mil. 2, 2, 92: quoi numquam unam rem me licet semel praecipere, id. As. 2, 4, 15: quae ego tibi praecipio, ea facito, id. Trin. 2, 2, 17: docui, monui, bene praecepi semper quae potui omnia, Ter. Ad. 5, 9, 6: quicquid praecipies, esto brevis, Hor. A. P. 335: de eloquentiā, Cic. de Or. 2, 11, 48: de agriculturā, Plin. 18, 24, 56, § 201: alicui aliquid praecipere, Cic. Mur. 2, 4: glossemata nobis, Asin. Gall. ap. Suet. Gram. 22: numerumque modumque carinis Praecipiant, Verg. A. 11, 329: cantus lugubres, Hor. C. 1, 24, 2: artem nandi, Ov. Tr. 2, 486: humanitatem, Plin. Ep. 1, 10, 2, etc.: mitem animum et mores modicis erroribus aequos Praecipit, enjoins, recommends, Juv. 14, 16.—With inf.: justitia praecipit, parcere omnibus, Cic. Rep. 3, 12, 21; so, paeoniam praecipiunt eruere noctu, Plin. 25, 4, 10, § 29: codicillos aperiri testator praecepit, Dig. 31, 1, 89.—With ut: illud potius praecipiendum fuit, ut, etc., Cic. Lael. 16, 60: recte etiam praecipi potest in amicitiis, ne, etc., id. ib. 20, 75: consulentibus Pythia praecepit, ut, etc., Nep. Milt. 1, 3.—With subj. alone: praecipit atque interdicit, omnes unum peterent Indutiomarum, Caes. B. G. 5, 58: his praecepit, omnes mortales pecuniā aggrediantur, Sall. J. 28, 1.—With acc. and inf.: etiam scelere convictos nonnisi ad opus damnari praeceperat, Suet. Ner. 31: D. Claudius edicto praecepit, decreed, commanded, Dig. 48, 10, 15. —As subst.: praecĭpĭens, entis, m., a teacher, Cic. Rep. 1, 46, 70: jam prope consummata fuerit praecipientis opera, Quint. 2, 6, 6: in numero praecipientium, id. 2, 3, 5.—Hence, praeceptum, i, n. (acc. to II. B.), a maxim, rule, precept; an order, direction, command, bidding; an injunction, etc. (class.): quo praecepto ab iis diligentissime observato, Caes. B. G. 5, 35: sine praecepto ullius suā sponte struebatur acies, Liv. 9, 31: transvectae praecepto ducis alae, Tac. Agr. 37: hoc praeceptum patet latius, Cic. Tusc. 2, 24, 58; cf.: hoc praeceptum officii diligenter tenendum est, id. Off. 2, 14, 51.—In plur.: tuis monitis praeceptisque, Cic. Fam. 5, 13, 3: in quam (partem) praecepta nobis danda sunt, id. Inv. 2, 17, 53; 2, 34, 105: abundare praeceptis philosophiae, id. Off. 1, 1, 1: dare praecepta dicendi, id. Brut. 76, 273; cf. studiosis dicendi praecepta tradere, id. Or. 41, 141: deūm praecepta secuti, orders, commands, Verg. G. 4, 448: sine vi non ulla dabit (Nereus) praecepta, id. ib. 4, 398.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinpraecipiō

substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Italic *kapjō Archaic Latin kapiō Latin capiō Latin praecipiō From prae- + capiō.

In English words that came into English from praecipiō

  • preceptpraeceptum
  • preceptorpraeceptor
  • precipientpraecipiens
  • praecipepraecipe
  • preceptionpraeceptiō

Quick answers

What does praecipiō mean in Latin?
praecipiō, a verb, means “to take or seize beforehand, in advance; to anticipate; to enjoin, direct, order, command”.
What are the principal parts of praecipiō?
praecipiō, praecipere, praecēpī (third (-iō variant) conjugation).
How do you pronounce praecipiō?
In classical Latin, [prae̯ˈkɪ.pi.oː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [preˈt͡ʃiː.pi.o].
Where does praecipiō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *per- → Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- → Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i? → Proto-Italic *prai → Proto-Italic *prai- → Latin praecipiō.
Which English words come from praecipiō?
English words that go back to Latin praecipiō include precipient, precept, preceptor, praecipe and preception.