different between precaution vs scrutiny

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

English

Etymology

From Middle English scrutiny, from Medieval Latin scr?tinium (“a search, an inquiry”), from Vulgar Latin scr?tor (“to search or examine thoroughly”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Late Latin scr?ta (“rubbish, broken trash”); or of Germanic origin, related to Old English scr?tnung (“examination, investigation, inquiry, search”), from scr?tnian, scr?dnian (“to examine carefully, scrutinize, consider, investigate”), from Proto-Germanic *skrud?n?, *skruþ?n? (“to search, examine”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krewt- (“to cut”). Compare Old High German skrod?n, scrut?n, scrutil?n (“to research, explore”), Old High German scrod (“a search, scrutiny”), Old English scr?adian (“to shred, cut up, cut off, peel, pare, prune”). More at shred.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sk?u?.t?.ni/
• Hyphenation: scru?ti?ny

Noun

scrutiny (usually uncountable, plural scrutinies)

1. Intense study of someone or something.
2. Thorough inspection of a situation or a case.
3. An examination of catechumens, in the last week of Lent, who were to receive baptism on Easter Day.
4. A ticket, or little paper billet, on which a vote is written.
5. An examination by a committee of the votes given at an election, for the purpose of correcting the poll.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Brande & C to this entry?)

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

scrutiny (third-person singular simple present scrutinies, present participle scrutinying, simple past and past participle scrutinied)

1. (obsolete, rare) To scrutinize.

Further reading

• scrutiny in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• scrutiny in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• "Scrutiny" in the Catholic Encyclopedia
• 1916, John R. Clark, "A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary for the Use of Students", scrûtnung
• Bosworth, J. (2010, March 21). An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online (T. N. Toller & Others, Eds.). Scrutnung. Retrieved September 18, 2011, from http://bosworth.ff.cuni.cz/027060