praeceptum

Latin

Etymology 1

From praecipiō.

Noun

praeceptum n (genitive praeceptī); second declension

1. teaching, lesson
2. precept
3. order, command

   Synonyms: iussus, ēdictum, ēdictiō, nūntius, scītum, dēcrētum, dēcrētiō, mandātum, imperium

   • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Exodus.20.5-6:

     ego sum Dominus Deus tuus, fortis, zelotes […] et faciens misericordiam in milia his qui diligunt me, et custodiunt praecepta mea.

     I am the Lord your God, mighty, jealous […] and shewing mercy unto thousands for them that love me and keep my commandments.

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	praeceptum	praecepta
genitive	praeceptī	praeceptōrum
dative	praeceptō	praeceptīs
accusative	praeceptum	praecepta
ablative	praeceptō	praeceptīs
vocative	praeceptum	praecepta

Descendants

• Catalan: precepte
• Corsican: precettu, pricettu
• → English: precept
• French: précepte
  • → Romanian: precept
• Friulian: precet
• Galician: precepto
• Italian: precetto
• → Old Irish: precept
• Spanish: precepto
• Portuguese: preceito
• → Welsh: pregeth

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

praeceptum

1. inflection of praeceptus:
   1. accusative masculine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular

References

• “praeceptum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “praeceptum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• praeceptum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• praeceptum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to give advice, directions, about a matter: praecepta dare, tradere de aliqua re
    
  • to be well acquainted with the views of philosophers: praecepta philosophorum (penitus) percepta habere
    
  • to teach logic: disserendi praecepta tradere
    
  • theoretical, speculative philosophy: philosophia, quae in rerum contemplatione versatur, or quae artis praeceptis continetur
    
  • to systematise: ad rationem, ad artem et praecepta revocare aliquid (De Or. 1. 41)
    
  • to treat with scientific exactness; to classify: ad rationis praecepta accommodare aliquid
    
  • the rules of art; aesthetics: artis praecepta, or also simply ars
    
  • to teach rhetoric: dicendi praecepta tradere
    
  • the rules of speech, grammar: praecepta grammaticorum
    
  • moral precepts: praecepta de moribus or de virtute
    
  • to give moral advice, rules of conduct: morum praecepta tradere alicui