# precocious

> English word · Adjective · IPA /pɹəˈkəʊʃəs/ · frequency rank #34,643

## Definitions
1. Characterized by exceptionally early development or maturity.
2. Exhibiting advanced skills and aptitudes at an abnormally early age.

## Etymology
From Latin praecox (“premature, precocious, ripe before time, early ripe”), from praecoquō (“to ripen beforehand, ripen fully, also boil beforehand”), from prae (“before”) + coquō (“to cook, boil, ripen”). Doublet of apricot.

## Easily confused with
- **precious** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/precious-vs-precocious)
- **precarious** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/precarious-vs-precocious)

## Common misspellings (14)
`percocious`, `pprecocious`, `prceocious`, `preccocious`, `preccoious`, `precoccious`, `precociosu`, `precociouss`, `precociuos`, `precocoius`, `precoicous`, `preoccious`, `prrecocious`, `rpecocious`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/precocious