precept
/ˈpɹiːsɛpt/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
obsolete/ˈpɹɛsɛpt/
precept noun: a rule or principle, especially one governing personal conduct.
Noun
precept (plural precepts)
- A rule or principle, especially one governing personal conduct.
- Precept guides, but example draws.
- By Heav’ns, ſuch Virtues, join’d with ſuch Succeſs,
Diſtract my very Soul: Our Father’s Fortune
Wou’d almoſt tempt us to renounce his Precepts.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2
- A written command, especially a demand for payment.
- An order issued by one local authority to another specifying the rate of tax to be charged on its behalf.
- A tax rate set by such an order; the tax thus collected.
- The Parish Council is financed by raising a small levy - the precept - on all residential properties within the parish.2019, “Medstead Parish Council”, in Medstead Parish Council website, archived from the original on 07 Jul 2019
- New parish [councils] and town councils are formed every year. But the National Association of Local Councils, which represents them, says an unusual number are in the works now. […] Higher-level councils, swamped by chunky issues such as homelessness and children in care, are often happy to hand...2026 February 1, “Why lots of English towns are creating puny local governments: Mad for parish councils”, in The Economist
Verb
precept (third-person singular simple present precepts, present participle precepting, simple past and past participle precepted)
- To act as a preceptor; to teach a physician-in-training by supervising their clinical practice.
- To teach (something) by precepts.
- [T]he tvvo commended rules by him [Aristotle] ſet down, vvhereby the axioms of Sciences are precepted to be made convertible, and vvhich the latter men have not vvithout elegancy ſurnamed; the one the rule of truth, becauſe it preventeth deceipt; the other the rule of prudence, becauſe it freeth...1603 (date written), [Francis] Bacon, “Valerius Terminus: Of the Interpretation of Nature; with the Annotations of Hermes Stella. Chapter XI. The Chapter Immediately Following the Inventary; Being...
precept meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
precept in Hindi
- rule or principle governing personal conduct
- शैली śailī, शील śīl
precept in Tamil
- precept, rule, principle
- நெறி neṟi
precept in Urdu
- precept, command
- وصیت vasiyat
precept in Bengali
- নীতি, আচরণের নিয়ম
More languagesFewer languages
- precept in Telugu
- శాసనము śāsanamu
- precept in Malayalam
- കല്പന, നീതിസൂത്രം, നടപടിക്രമം, മുറ
- precept in Kannada
- ಕಟ್ಟಲೆ, ಅರಿವೊರೆ, ಅರಿವೆನ್ನಿಕೆ, ತಿಳಿಹೇಳುವಿಕೆ
- precept in Sanskrit
- उपदेश upadeśa
- precept in Tagalog
- sawikain
- precept in Arabic
- مَبْدَأ mabdaʔ
- precept in Thai
- ศีล sǐin
- precept in Vietnamese
- giới luật, chuẩn tắc
Examples of precept in a sentence
- I need hardly point out that Pinker doesn't really believe anything of what he writes, at least if example is stronger evidence of belief than precept.2006, Theodore Dalrymple, The Gift of Language:
- Town and parish councils, which are funded largely through “precepts” on tax bills, face no such restrictions.2026 February 1, “Why lots of English towns are creating puny local governments: Mad for parish councils”, in The Economist:
Forms of precept
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | precepts |
| alternative form (archaic) | præcept |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | precepts |
| present participle | precepting |
| past participle | precepted |
| past | precepted |
Origin of precept
Borrowed from Late Latin praeceptum, form of praecipiō (“to teach”), from Latin prae (“pre-”) + capiō (“take”).
Words formed from precept
Words that rhyme with precept
Questions about precept
- What does precept mean?
- Precept means a rule or principle, especially one governing personal conduct.
- What is precept in Hindi?
- Precept in Hindi is शैली (śailī), शील (śīl). See Precept meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use precept in a sentence?
- I need hardly point out that Pinker doesn't really believe anything of what he writes, at least if example is stronger evidence of belief than precept.
- What part of speech is precept?
- Precept can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce precept?
- Precept is pronounced /ˈpɹiːsɛpt/.
- What is the plural of precept?
- The plural of precept is precepts.
Words near precept in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: precept (page history and authors); நெறி (Tamil) (page history and authors); وصیت (Urdu) (page history and authors); precept (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); శాసనము (Telugu) (page history and authors); precept (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); precept (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “precept.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/precept. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.