different between carefulness vs precaution

English

Etymology

From Middle English [Term?], from Old English carfulnes (“care, anxiety, a charge, cure of souls, solicitude, carefulness, curiousness, curiosity”), equivalent to careful +? -ness.

Noun

carefulness (usually uncountable, plural carefulnesses)

1. The state of being careful.

Translations

English

Etymology

From French précaution, Latin praecautio, from praecavere, praecautum (“to guard against beforehand”); prae (“before”) + cavere (“be on one's guard”). See pre-, and caution.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?i??k????n/
• Hyphenation: pre?cau?tion

Noun

precaution (countable and uncountable, plural precautions)

1. Previous caution or care; caution previously employed to prevent misfortune or to secure good
   • July 2, 1826, John Henry Newman, The Philosophical Temper, First Enjoined by the Gospel

     The ancient philosophers treasured up their supposed discoveries with miserable precaution.

2. A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success; a precautionary act.

   to take precautions against risks of accident

Derived terms

• precautionary

Translations

See also

• prevention

Verb

precaution (third-person singular simple present precautions, present participle precautioning, simple past and past participle precautioned)

1. (transitive) To warn or caution beforehand.
2. (transitive, rare) To take precaution against.

Translations

Anagrams

• preauction, unoperatic