precipitous

adj

Etymology: From oblique stem of Latin praeceps, praecipit- + -ous, from obsolete French précipiteux, from Vulgar Latin *praecipitosus, from praecipitō, from praeceps, praecipit- + -ō, from prae- (“before”) + caput (“head”). Equivalent to precipice (“steep cliff, brink”) + -ous.

1. Steep, like a precipice

   “a precipitous cliff”

   “a precipitous mountain”

2. Headlong

   “a precipitous fall”

3. Hasty; rash; quick; sudden

   “precipitous attempts”

   “[…]humans have been responsible for a precipitous decline of elephants, from perhaps 300,000 in the early 1970s to some 10,000 today.”