A precaution is something you do in advance to prevent harm or trouble. It is a careful step taken to reduce risk before a problem happens.
“Precaution” comes from French *précaution*, from Latin *praecautio*, “a guarding beforehand,” from *praecavere*, “to guard against in advance.” The parts *prae-* (“before”) and *cavere* (“to beware”) show its forward-looking nature.
A good precaution is like invisible armor—you don’t notice it when things go well, but you’d really miss it if things went badly. That’s why safety measures often feel annoying until the day they quietly save you.
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