Make Your Point: PRECEPT

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pronounce PRECEPT:

PREE sept

connect this word to others:

My favorite Latin verb might be capere! It means "to take, to grasp, to seize, to hold, to assume, or to understand." I can't remember all that. Let's say capere means "to take."

Capere has given rise to so many useful English words, like (take a deep breath here): accept, anticipate, case, catch, chase, capable, caption, capture, captivate, concept, conceive, deceive, disciple, except, forceps, inception, municipal, occupy, participate, perceive, principal and principle, receive, receipt, susceptible, and the word we're checking out today, precept.

See if you can recall four more words that come from capere:

1. Something cap_____s, like a roomy closet or an excellent memory, can take in a lot of stuff.

2. To e___cip_te people is to set them free from being controlled by someone or something else.

3. Something i_cip___t is has recently been "taken up:" it's new, just now beginning, not yet fully formed.

4. Someone capt___s focuses too much on every little thing that's wrong with something, as if taking in every single fault and flaw.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

The word "precept" has Latin bits that literally mean "(something) taken beforehand."

A precept is a universal idea or a statement that most people would accept from the get-go as true and helpful: a suggestion to follow that everybody can agree on (even before we start discussing specific details or situations).

In other words, a precept is a general rule or a guideline, often one that helps anyone live a good, moral, satisfying life.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the countable kind: "the precepts of science," "the precepts of rhetoric," "the religious precepts against the violation of property (Thomas Jefferson)."

Other forms:

The plural noun is "precepts."

The adjective forms are rare, but that makes them fun and surprising! You can pick between "preceptial" and "preceptual." And the adverb is "preceptually."

"Precept" can also be a verb, but its uses are very specific. To precept people is to give them clinical training, and to precept money is to demand it as part of laying down a rule.

how to use it:

"Precept" is a common word, with a very formal, almost religious tone.

We use it to describe all kinds of rules and guidelines: you might talk about moral or religious precepts (like "Thou shalt not kill"), or personal precepts (like "Tell the truth; it's much easier to remember"), or professional precepts (like "Writers must write what they know").

We also talk about people issuing or laying down precepts, following or practicing or obeying precepts, discussing or negotiating precepts, questioning and defying precepts, etc.

examples:

"Chief Luthuli's precept: 'Let your courage rise with danger.'"
— Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, 1994

"Chekhov’s first rule of playwriting goes something like this: 'If there’s a gun on the wall in act one, scene one, you must fire the gun by act three, scene two.' I can't help thinking about that storytelling precept as I contemplate the gun beneath my father's pillow."
— Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex, 20028

has this page helped you understand "precept"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "precept" without saying "tenet" or "maxim."

try it out:

In R. J. Palacio's novel Wonder, a character defines the word "precept" in several ways:

1. "RULES ABOUT REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS!"
2. "Any saying or ground rule that can motivate you."
3. "Anything that helps guide us when making decisions about really important things.”

Later, he draws from many sources as he gives examples of precepts:

1. "When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind."
2. "Your deeds are your monuments."
3. "Have no friends not equal to yourself."
4. "Fortune favors the bold."
5. "No man is an island, entire of itself."
6. "It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers."
7. "Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much."
8. "What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful."
9. "Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as you ever can."
10. "Just follow the day and reach for the sun!"

First, which of this character's three definitions of "precept" do you like the best? And which of the ten examples do you like the best, and why?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is "The Tip of the Tongue!"

You know how sometimes you'll be reaching for a perfect word, and it's right there at the tip of your tongue, where you can almost taste it? Somehow that word is caught in the liminal space between your memory and your mouth. This month, let's play with that experience, and practice resolving it to our satisfaction.

I'll give you a short quote from Chris Palmer's heartfelt and eye-opening new book, Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life, along with a blank where Chris has deployed a truly perfect word. To help bring that word to the tip of your tongue, I'll describe it both physically and semantically.

Try this one today:

"People who _____ harmful stereotypes of older people put themselves at risk of poor health and early death."

The word is 2 syllables long, and it has an M near the beginning.

The word means "accept readily, as if hugging."

To reveal the right word, scroll to the bottom of the issue.

review this word:

1. There's not really an opposite of PRECEPT. But if we were to invent one, it could be POSTCEPT, and we could define it as

A. an epiphany that occurs to someone after a meal.
B. a conflict that continues to stir up controversy long after it's over.
C. a guideline that people eventually accept after certain experiences.

2. A collection of ten precepts, such as _____, can be called a decalogue.

A. Dr. R. A. Vernon's 10 Rules of Dating
B. Salena Baca's Learn to Crochet in 10 Easy Lessons
C. National Geographic's The 10 Best of Everything: National Parks

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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