precipitous

Etymology

From obsolete French précipiteux, from Vulgar Latin *praecipitosus. Equivalent to precipice (“steep”) + -ous.

adj

  1. Steep, like a precipice
    a precipitous cliff
    a precipitous mountain
    a precipitous decline
    a precipitous drop
  2. Headlong
    a precipitous fall
  3. Hasty; rash; quick; sudden
    precipitous attempts
    […]humans have been responsible for a precipitous decline of elephants, from perhaps 300,000 in the early 1970s to some 10,000 today. 2007 March, J. Michael Fay, “Ivory Wars: Last Stand in Zakouma”, in National Geographic, page 46

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