Hypertext Webster Gateway: "precarious"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Precarious \Pre*ca"ri*ous\, a. [L. precarius obtained by begging
or prayer, depending on request or on the will of another,
fr. precari to pray, beg. See {Pray}.]
1. Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by
courtesy; liable to be changed or lost at the pleasure of
another; as, precarious privileges. --Addison.
2. Held by a doubtful tenure; depending on unknown causes or
events; exposed to constant risk; not to be depended on
for certainty or stability; uncertain; as, a precarious
state of health; precarious fortunes. ``Intervals of
partial and precarious liberty.'' --Macaulay.
Syn: Uncertain; unsettled; unsteady; doubtful; dubious;
equivocal.
Usage: {Precarious}, {Uncertain}. Precarious in stronger than
uncertain. Derived originally from the Latin precari,
it first signified ``granted to entreaty,'' and,
hence, ``wholly dependent on the will of another.''
Thus it came to express the highest species of
uncertainty, and is applied to such things as depend
wholly on future casualties. -- {Pre*ca"ri*ous*ly},
adv. -- {Pre*ca"ri*ous*ness}, n.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
precarious
adj 1: affording no ease or reassurance; "a precarious truce" [syn:
{unstable}]
2: fraught with danger; "dangerous waters"; "a parlous journey
on stormy seas"; "a perilous voyage across the Atlantic in
a small boat"; "the precarious life of an undersea diver";
"dangerous surgery followed by a touch-and-go recovery"
[syn: {parlous}, {perilous}, {touch-and-go}]
3: dangerously insecure; "a precarious footing on the ladder"
4: not secure; beset with difficulties; "a shaky marriage"
[syn: {shaky}]
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