noun
precipice
PRES-uh-pis/ˈpresəpɪs/
A dangerously steep cliff or its brink.
The narrow trail runs along the edge of a precipice.
Etymology
“Before” plus “head” gives the image “headfirst” or “headlong.” The ancestor named both a headlong fall and a steep place, connecting the dangerous drop with the cliff itself.
In context
Joe slid over the edge of an ice cliff. And he was trapped, hanging in space above a precipice. To save himself, Simon was forced to cut the rope.
More examples
- She steps back from the precipice and catches her breath.
- Steep precipices make this mountain route especially dangerous.
- Mounting debts push the company to the precipice of bankruptcy.
Forms
precipice · precipices
Similar words
- cliff
- A steep rock face, without the same emphasis on danger.
- brink
- The edge of a drop, rather than the cliff itself.