A precocious 5 year old told me, yesterday that there would be ‘precipitation tomorrow' (today} (it is raining now, and expected to rain heavily at times!)

when asked, she state precipitation is another way to say ‘rain’-- but I got to thinking.. why is rain something that has a pre? What is ‘before?”

so off to one look-- and here is one opinion.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/12/P0511200.html

Precipitate

VERB: inflected forms: pre·cip·i·tat·ed, pre·cip·i·tat·ing, pre·cip·i·tates

TRANSITIVE VERB:
1. To throw from or as if from a great height; hurl downward: “The finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travelers into the gulf below” (Thornton Wilder). 2. To cause to happen, especially suddenly or prematurely. See synonyms at speed. 3. Meteorology To cause (water vapor) to condense and fall from the air as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. 4. Chemistry To cause (a solid substance) to be separated from a solution.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:
1. Meteorology To condense and fall from the air as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. 2. Chemistry To be separated from a solution as a solid. 3. To fall or be thrown headlong: an ailing economy that precipitated into ruin despite foreign intervention.

ADJECTIVE:
1. Moving rapidly and heedlessly; speeding headlong. 2. Acting with or marked by excessive haste and lack of due deliberation. See synonyms at impetuous. , reckless. 3. Occurring suddenly or unexpectedly.
NOUN:
1. Chemistry A solid or solid phase separated from a solution. 2. A product resulting from a process, event, or course of action.
ETYMOLOGY:Latin praecipitre, praecipitt-, to throw headlong, from praeceps, praecipit-, headlong : prae-, pre- + caput, capit-, head; see kaput- in Appendix I.


Mmm, now I am wondering how is headfirst different from headlong? (and why is rain hurled from the sky headlong...)




my other obsession