# precocious

Pronunciation: say "pruh-KOH-shuhs" US /pɹəˈkoʊʃəs/, UK /pɹəˈkəʊʃəs/

## Adjective

1. Developing or happening unusually early, especially showing abilities or maturity at a younger age than usual.
   - Simple: Developing or happening earlier than usual, especially showing skills or maturity at a young age.
   - _A precocious talent, she published her first poems at fourteen._
   - _Precocious readers often get bored in classes pitched at their age group._
2. Bold or self-assured beyond what suits one's age or standing, in a cheeky, forward, or cocky way. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Too bold or too sure of yourself for your age or place, in a way that seems rude.
   - _A precocious intern on his second day was already telling the partners how to run the firm._
   - _She played the precocious niece who interrupts every dinner with smart remarks._

## Origin

Latin prae ("before") and coquō ("to cook, boil, ripen") combined in praecoquō ("to ripen beforehand"), which gave praecox ("premature, ripe before time"), the source of this word. Apricot is a doublet.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/precocious (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).