precocious: [17] Precocious means etymologically ‘pre-cooked’. It was borrowed from Latin praecox, a derivative of the verb praecoquere ‘cook in advance’, which was a compound formed from the prefix prae- ‘before’ and coquere ‘cook’ (a relative of English cook and kitchen). But coquere was also used metaphorically for ‘ripen’, and so praecox also meant ‘early-ripening’ – whence English precocious ‘developing before its time’. The apricot is etymologically the ‘precocious’ fruit. => apricot, cook, kiln, kitchen
precocious (adj.)
1640s, "developed before the usual time" (of plants), with -ous + Latin praecox (genitive praecocis) "maturing early," from prae "before" (see pre-) + coquere "to ripen," literally "to cook" (see cook (n.)). Originally of flowers or fruits. Figurative use, of persons, dates from 1670s. Related: Precociously; precociousness.
实用例句
1. From childhood, he was evidently at once rebellious and precocious.
从儿时起，他就明显地既叛逆又早熟。来自柯林斯例句
2. Sue is a thoroughly precocious little madam if ever there was one.
休确实是个少见的早熟的小丫头。来自柯林斯例句
3. a precocious child who started her acting career at the age of 5
5岁便开始演艺生涯的超常儿童来自《权威词典》
4. She burst on to the world tennis scene as a precocious 14-year old.
她14岁时就作为一名网球神童闯入了世界网坛。来自柯林斯例句
5. Despite her precocious talent for music and art, she failed both subjects at school.
