précis

See also: precis

English

Alternative forms

• precis

Etymology

Borrowed from French précis (“summary”), from a substantive use of its adjectival sense "precise". Doublet of precise.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹeɪsi/
• Rhymes: -eɪsi

Noun

précis (plural précis)

1. A summary or brief: a concise or abridged statement or view.
   • 1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter I, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London, New York, N.Y., Melbourne, Vic.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC:

     I know she goes in for giving a rapid precis of all her guests.

   • 1981, Tracy Kidder, chapter 1, in The Soul of a New Machine:

     the computer is functioning, lights on it softly blinking as it produces on the screen beside it a series of graphs — ten years' worth of annual reports, a précis of Data General Corporation's financial history.

Synonyms

• Thesaurus:summary

Translations

concise statement

• Bulgarian: резюме (bg) n (rezjume), конспект (bg) m (konspekt)
• German: Zusammenfassung (de) f, Inhaltsangabe (de) f
• Greek: περίληψη (el) f (perílipsi)
• Hungarian: summa (hu)
• Italian: riassunto (it) m
• Japanese: 要約 (ja) (yōyaku)
• Maori: whakarāpopoto
• Russian: сво́дка (ru) (svódka), резюме́ (ru) (rezjumé), конспе́кт (ru) (konspékt)
• Spanish: resumen (es) m
• Swedish: sammandrag (sv)

Verb

précis (third-person singular simple present précises, present participle précising, simple past and past participle précised)

1. to write a précis of a work; to summarise, abridge
   • 1983, Philip Priestley, James McGuire, Learning to Help: Basic Skills Excercises‎^[1], →ISBN, Counseling, page 71:

     If the inital ^[sic] passage consists of a series of paragraphs, each with a one-sentence summary, the individual's success in managing to précis the essential content of the message can then be assessed

   • 1996, Richard Palmer, “Creative Doodling: Note-taking for fun and profit”, in Brain train: studying for success‎^[2], 2nd edition, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 124:

     Nevertheless, to be required to précis say 5000 words on a single sheet of A4 has the advantage of simplicity, even if it isn’t easy.

   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 28:

     Télémaque would not only be read widely in schools throughout the century, it would also be cited approvingly in the Encyclopédie, cherished by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, précised by Louis XVI, and its author saluted by Robespierre as ‘tutor to the human race’.

   • 2005, Mike Cardwell, Cara Flanagan, Psychology AS: The Complete Companion‎^[3], Nelson Thornes, →ISBN, Module 2: Developmental psychology: Attachments in development, page 73:

     We think it is vital to learn how to précis, and to improve this skill with regular practice.

   • 2007, Disability Rights Commission, Code of practice post-16: code of practice (revised) for providers of post-16 education and related services‎^[4], Large print version edition, The Stationery Office, →ISBN, page 101:

     She also asks if she can leave out the questions asking her to write a business letter and to précis because she feels that these questions would substantially disadvantage her because of her dyslexia. The education provider would not have to make this adjustment because these questions are there to determine her competence at writing and précising, so are part of the competence standard being tested.

Anagrams

• Cripes, Persic, Prices, Sierpc, Spicer, crepis, cripes, prices, spicer

French

Etymology

From Latin praecīsus (“cut off”), perfect passive participle of praecīdō (“shorten”), from prae (“before”) + caedō (“cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- (“to strike”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁe.si/

• audio

  (file)

Adjective

précis (feminine précise, masculine plural précis, feminine plural précises)

1. Which does not leave doubt; specific, explicit
2. Done in a precise and reliable fashion
3. (Sound) Well perceived; sharp
4. (Of language or writing) Demonstrating precision, concision and accuracy
5. Said of someone whose language expresses such qualities
6. (Measure) calculated or measured with precision

Noun

précis m (plural précis)

1. précis

Related terms

• précisément
• préciser
• précision

Further reading

• “précis”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• crispe, crispé