precisionn.adj.

Brit.

/prᵻˈsɪʒn/, U.S.

/priˈsɪʒ(ə)n/,

/prəˈsɪʒ(ə)n/

Forms: 1500s precisione (Scottish), 1500s precysyon, 1600s– precision.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French précision; Latin praecīsiōn-, praecīsiō.

Etymology: < Middle French, French précision action of cutting off, trimming (c1380), exactitude (1606) and its etymon classical Latin praecīsiōn-, praecīsiō act of cutting off, act of breaking off (in speech), truncated end, in post-classical Latin also separation, schism (late 4th cent.), excommunication (13th cent. in British sources), precision, exactitude (from 13th cent. in British sources) < praecīs- , past participial stem of praecīdere precide v. + -iō -ion suffix¹. Compare Spanish precisión (1507 or earlier), Italian precisione (a1642).With sense A. 1 compare later prescission n.

A. n.

1. Chiefly Philosophy. The action or an act of separating or cutting off, esp. the mental separation of one fact or idea from another; abstraction, definition.In quot. 1683: = reservation n. 6a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ceasing > [noun] > causing cessation of action or operation > abruptly

precision1529

prescission1583

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > [noun] > separating of ideas

precision1529

abstraction1579

abstractionism1842

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > keeping from knowledge > hidden or indirect meaning > [noun] > mental reservation

mental reservation1606

restriction1607

precision1683

mentals1712

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > an explanation, definition > [noun] > precise or specific

specification1633

precision1690

1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters ii. v. f. liiii It is not this company and congregacyon of all these nacyons that wythout faccions taken & precysyon from the remenaunt profese y^e name & fayth of Cryst?

c1570 Art of Music (BL Add. 4911) f. 27, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Precisione Diminucioun..is a precisione of the mid part in mesur not[h]ing discrepant fro semidit.

1640 G. Watts tr. F. Bacon Of Advancem. Learning v. v. 255 We call Prenotion a Precision of endlesse investigation.

1683 D. A. Whole Art Converse 95 You can neither tye them by Promise, nor by Oath; for if they Promise or Swear, 'tis with a mental Precision.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. x. 245 The taking Matter to be the name of something really existing under that Precision,..has..produced..obscure..Discourses.

1710 G. Berkeley Treat. Princ. Human Knowl. Introd. §9 As the mind frames to itself abstract ideas of qualities or modes, so does it, by the same precision, or mental separation, attain abstract ideas of the more compounded beings.

1760 R. Griffith & E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (ed. 2) II. cclxxi. 255 This Definition I look upon to be more imperfect, and of a more dangerous Tendency, than any of the three precisions he has so ingeniously proved the Insufficiency of.

1917 T. S. Eliot Prufrock & Other Observ. 27 Whispering lunar incantations Dissolve the floors of the memory And all its clear relations Its divisions and precisions.

1983 N. J. Wells tr. F. Suárez On Essence of Finite Being 228 If those two be compared in terms of reason or a mental precision, existence is placed before essence.

a. An instance of exactness or preciseness; a particular, nicety, minute detail, esp. of language.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > the quality of being specific > [noun] > quality of being specific or detailed > a detail or particular > details or particulars > minute

precision1695

minutiae1748

minutia1796

perjinkities1822

fine print1949

1695 J. Locke Further Considerations conc. Raising Value of Money 93 I have left out the utmost precisions of Fractions in these Computations.

a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) II. xvi. 328 Her husband was really deserving of her..being to a precision the most charming young man in the world.

1886 Jrnl. Anthropol. Inst. 15 383 No doubt the highly complex feelings of the mind are incapable of being stated with numerical precisions.

1907 Athenæum 9 Mar. 282/3 He [sc. Henry James] must..deck it with the most elaborated precisions of impreciseness.

1927 Amer. Mercury Feb. 193/1 Mr. Harlow, in accordance with whim and natures, had a love for intelligent precisions of speech.

1996 Washington Post (Nexis) 3 Mar. (Books section) 8 He doesn't capture the cadences or precisions of 19th-century American speech.

b. The fact, condition, or quality of being precise; exactness, accuracy.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [noun]

nicetya1393

curiosityc1400

suretya1500

justness1533

preciseness1569

accurateness1611

punctuality1620

punctualness1620

mathematicality1641

accuracy1644

expressness1645

exactness1646

veracity1666

niceness1678

correctness1684

criticalness1693

precision1698

punctuosity1733

definitude1836

minutia1849

definition1866

1698 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus I. i. ii. 14 We..ought to look upon all the Projects of restoring the Antiquity of Times to a nice Exactness and Precision, as foolish and chimerical.

1740 G. Cheyne Ess. Regimen Pref. 12 Precision is incompatible with Finitude.

1780 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) IV. i. 26 He knew how to omit exactness, when the result of the whole demands a less precision in parts.

1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. App. 185 Precision is the third requisite of perspicuity with respect to words and phrases: It signifies retrenching superfluities, and pruning the expression, so as to exhibit neither more nor less than an exact copy of the person's idea who uses it.

1860 J. L. Motley Hist. Netherlands (1868) I. ii. 36 A right-angled triangle of almost mathematical precision.

1877 T. H. Huxley Physiography Pref. 6 The precision of statement, which..distinguishes science from common information.

1900 Times 2 Jan. 13/6 Intrenched positions in attack as well as in defence in combination with weapons of precision.

1930 A. P. Herbert Water Gipsies xxi. 311 The ‘Long Two’ cannot be fumbled; luck can do little; precision is everything.

1981 M. Keane Good Behaviour xxxiv. 230 With careful and delicate precision I poured the ginger ale, just enough and not a drop too much.

2004 A. Hollinghurst Line of Beauty xviii. 486 It was the sound of the world he moved in,..the tuned precision of a closing door.

c. The degree of refinement in a measurement, calculation, or specification, esp. as represented by the number of digits given. Contrasted with accuracy (the closeness of the measurement, etc., to the correct value).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > particular qualities > estimated or approximate

estimation1508

slump number1721

approximate1784

precision1842

rounding1842

1842 J. Gunmere Elem. Treat. Astron. (ed. 3) Preface A table..of Logarithmic Sines and Tangents to four decimal figures... These are convenient in many computations not requiring greater precision.

1899 Publ. Amer. Econ. Assoc. No. 2. 132 No astronomer's calculations have ever yet reached a precision of one part in sixty million.

1948 Math. Tables & Other Aids Computation 3 286 Numbers are stored to a precision of 35 binary digits.

1962 Gloss. Terms Automatic Date Processing (B.S.I.) 14 A result may have more precision than it has accuracy, e.g. the true value of π to eight decimal figures is 3·1415927; the expression π = 3·1415249 is precise to eight figures but accurate only to about five.

1970 H. A. Rodgers Dict. Data Processing Terms 81/1 Strictly speaking there is a difference of precision between 1,000 and 1. × 10³; in the first case the low-order zeros are known to have that value while in the second case all that is known is the explicit digit and the multiplier.

1996 Nature 15 Aug. 588/1 We have developed an imaging polarimeter system that can routinely record the Sun's spectrum with a precision of 10⁻⁵ in the degree of polarization.

d. Statistics. The reproducibility or reliability of a measurement or numerical result; a quantity expressing this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > ability to yield correct or concordant result

robustness?1533

precision1876

reliability1909

1876 Analyst 3 137 The most usual method to compare the precision of different systems is by means of probable error.

1906 Acta Univ. Lundensis Ny Följd 1 v. 7 k is called the measure of precision.

1911 G. U. Yule Introd. Theory Statistics xiii. 253 The reliability or precision of an observed proportion varies as the square root of the number of observations on which it is based.

1957 M. G. Kendall & W. R. Buckland Dict. Statist. Terms 224 Precision is a quality associated with a class of measurements and refers to the way in which repeated observations conform to themselves; and in a somewhat narrower sense refers to the dispersion of the observations, or some measure of it.

1974 Nature 8 Nov. 137/1 Radioactive isotopic dates invariably include their precision, that is, the repeatability, yet most earth scientists still take these figures as measures of accuracy.

e. The accuracy of an information retrieval system, expressed as the proportion of items retrieved by a particular search that are relevant. Cf. recall n. 3b.

ΚΠ

1965 Communications ACM 8 397 Recall is high if much of the material relevant to a given search request is in fact retrieved; precision, on the other hand, is high if very little irrelevant material is retrieved at the same time.

1975 Information Processing & Managem. 11 245 The value of H_t for 5% Recall and 38% Precision, from curve A, is 0·0021.

2003 Information Technol., Learning, & Performance Jrnl. (Nexis) Oct. 1 If 100 records are retrieved from the database system and 90 records are found to be relevant, the precision is 90%.

B. adj. (attributive).

Possessing or intended to possess exactness of performance, execution, or construction.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective] > of tools, materials, etc.: accurate

truec1392

just?1556

precise1561

finea1566

delicate1581

nicea1628

exact1665

sensible1678

sensitive1820

precision1875

pin-sharp1933

1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 263/1 The theory of the common balance as we see it working in every grocer's shop, and..of the modern precision balance.

1909 Westm. Gaz. 7 Dec. 5/2 They did not know which to marvel at most, the wonderful automatic precision machines,..or the staff responsible for their working.

1937 Discovery Apr. 112/1 These are real precision instruments,..with lens of aperture fi·9 such as the old plate cameras never knew.

1966 ‘H. MacDiarmid’ Company I've Kept viii. 187 I qualified as a precision fitter and obtained a job with a big general engineering firm.

1975 G. Bram & C. Downs Manuf. Technol. i. 7 Gauge blocks are used as standards of measurement or reference in most precision-engineering works.

1995 Daily Mail 2 Jan. 76/5 But he made up for his miss in the 25th minute with a precision pass that sent centre Shaun Irwin sprinting over for a try.

Compounds

C1. Forming adjectives in the sense ‘with precision’.

precision-built adj.

ΚΠ

1922 Lincoln (Nebraska) State Jrnl. 30 Apr. 5/3 (advt.) It is precision-built to the last detail.

1992 Autosport 23 Apr. 17/1 (advt.) A precision-built, intercooled, twin-turbocharger system.

precision-engineered adj.

ΚΠ

1935 Edwardsville (Illinois) Intelligencer 27 Mar. 8/4 (advt.) Features that assure stamina and long life are evident in every detail of the precision-engineered chassis.

1992 Economist 3 Oct. 77/1 (advt.) Three precision engineered hydraulic ‘shock absorbers’ provide dynamic resistance.

precision-made adj.

ΚΠ

1921 Washington Post 18 Dec. 71/5 (advt.) Equipped with powerful smooth-running precision-made motor.

1992 Independent 6 Feb. 6/8 The neat rows of baleen plates in its [sc. a whale's] mouth which resembled a precision-made radiator.

C2.

precision agriculture n. an approach to agricultural practice in which processes are finely adjusted, in response to natural variation within and between sites and crops, in order to improve productivity, quality, sustainability, etc.The practice of precision agriculture now typically makes use of information technology such as computer modelling, GPS systems, sensors, and automated machinery.

ΚΠ

1955 Petoskey (Mich.) News-Rev. 19 Apr. 7/3 That's a good thing in these days of precision agriculture, comments Carolus, because it makes it possible to spot troubles immediately and correct them by adding the necessary quantity of the minor nutrients to the mixture.

1965 Wisconsin State Jrnl. 8 Aug. iv. 2/2 This kind of agriculture is what W. H. Gabelman, chairman of the University of Wisconsin horticulture department, calls 'precision agriculture'. It combines the important asset of irrigation with the advancing technologies of field work and harvesting. As such it has attracted major vegetable grower and processor interest from all parts of the nation.

1996 Jrnl. Soil & Water Conserv. Jan. 38/2 A farmer who spot sprays a field for weed control..is practicing precision agriculture.

2017 Times (Nexis) 18 Sept. 10 We are in the fourth agricultural revolution and it's a digital revolution... It's about taking huge data streams to develop precision agriculture that can target specific areas of a field or specific areas of a plant.

precision approach radar n. a ground-based radar system used to follow accurately the approach of an aircraft and to enable landing to be supervised from the ground.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > instrument for detection > [noun] > radar system

radiolocation1935

televisibility1940

radar1941

precision approach radar1950

PAR1951

MTI1956

AWACS1966

1950 Electronics Feb. 71/1 (heading) Airport surveillance and precision approach radar (GCA).

1965 J. L. Nayler & E. Ower Aviation To-day xvii. 250/2 Ground Controlled Approach.., also known as Precision Approach Radar, gives the position of an approaching aircraft in elevation, azimuth, and range relative to the touch-down point on the runway.

1997 AOPA Pilot Nov. 45 During an electrical failure..a precision approach radar..may be your only ticket to the ground in one piece.

precision bombing n. the practice or policy of bombing specific (usually military or industrial) targets rather than bombing indiscriminately over large areas.

ΚΠ

1934 Times 21 July 9/1 If a bomber unit decides to adopt precision bombing, it must release its missiles at high altitude.

2003 N.Y. Times Mag. 20 Apr. 32/1 The emphasis will be on the role of technology—precision bombing, cruise missiles, decapitation strikes.

precision-guided adj. Military (of a missile, weapon, etc.) remotely or automatically guided to attack a specific target.

ΚΠ

1956 N.Y. Times 23 Sept. w21/1 (advt.) Automatic guidance engineers to initiate and conduct tests of complex precision guided missile assemblies.

2001 C. Coker Humane Warfare i. 15 The increasing accuracy of precision-guided weapons has made war much more discriminating than in the past.

precision medicine n. medical care designed to optimize efficiency or therapeutic benefit for particular groups of patients, especially by using genetic or molecular profiling.

ΚΠ

1992 LACMA Physician 16 Mar. 27/2 He described several areas where developments could lead to, or already are leading to, precision medicine.

2007 J.R. Turner New Drug Devel. xiv. 227 The practice of precision medicine is predicated on knowledge of a person's genotype.

2014 New Yorker 15 Sept. 48/3 Precision medicine has been made possible in part by advances in computer technology, enabling scientists to depict enzymes, receptors, and other key cellular molecules in exquisite, three-dimensional detail.

precision tool n. a tool used for fine and precise work; also in extended use.

ΚΠ

1911 Times 11 Jan. 21/6 (advt.) The finest Stock of High-Class Mechanical Tools in this Kingdom. A large variety of Starrett's Fine Precision Tools.

1950 Times 27 Oct. 2/3 Modern photography has established itself both as a precision tool and as an art.

1956 G. Willans Whizz for Atomms v. 97 You catch the old works bus and clock-in, put on your overalls, chaff the gurls, turn on the air conditioning, open the marshmallows and switch on the old precision tool.

2004 Financial Times (Nexis) 29 May (Weekend section) 11 All the work is done by hand using precision tools such as scalpels and dental drills.

precision-tooled adj. made using precision tools; finely and exactly made.

ΚΠ

1932 Middletown (N.Y.) Times Herald 1 Feb. 4/3 [An aircraft engine] has practically no intricate, precision tooled parts.

1954 Times 11 Mar. 3/1 (advt.) The Viceroy's shaving heads..are scientifically designed, precision-tooled and superbly finished to give you fast, skin-level shaves.

2001 GQ Nov. 54/4 Follow these precision-tooled rules and an evening of inhibition-dismissing frivolity is guaranteed.

Derivatives

preˈcisional adj. of or characterized by precision (in various senses).

ΚΠ

1861 A. J. Davis Great Harmonia (ed. 5) V. ii. 237 His precisional applications of this eternal Principle may (or may not) be unphilosophical, and out of beat with the fixed laws which roll and shape the ends of nations.

1938 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity (ed. 2) v. 16 We are concerned with precisional measurements.

2000 Social Forces 79 376 A third type of predictive accuracy..need not be considered because the reliability and completeness of measurement do not warrant precisional comparisons of contending theories.

preˈcisioner n. rare = precisionist n. 1.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [noun] > truthful person > one who professes accuracy

descriptionist1819

precisionist1827

precisioner1892

1892 Century Nov. 37/1 Honor the enduring precisioners by our own grateful remembrance.

1902 Times 15 July 10/2 It is not an air to be breathed freely by pedants, or prudes, or precisioners.

1952 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press 5 Apr. 9/4 Veteran pen precisioner [at Parker pen factory].

preˈcisionism n. the practice of precision in behaviour and action (cf. precisianism n.); (also) the doctrine or practice of the Precisionists (cf. precisionist n. 2).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [noun] > acting according to some standard, fashion, etc. > strict or rigorous conformity

austerenessa1450

rigour1536

preciseness1545

precisianism1573

rigorism1704

precisionism1868

1868 H. Kingsley Mathilde II. vi. 94 She had disliked André Desilles and his precisionism all her life.

1984 S. Landau Dictionaries 351 MW9 has abandoned this exercise in specious precisionism.

2001 S. Harrison Pop Art & Origins Post-modernism iii. v. 121 A similar relationship linked precisionism, a Cubist variant on the same art, and minimalism.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	precision
释义	precisionn.adj. Brit. /prᵻˈsɪʒn/, U.S. /priˈsɪʒ(ə)n/, /prəˈsɪʒ(ə)n/ Forms: 1500s precisione (Scottish), 1500s precysyon, 1600s– precision. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French précision; Latin praecīsiōn-, praecīsiō. Etymology: < Middle French, French précision action of cutting off, trimming (c1380), exactitude (1606) and its etymon classical Latin praecīsiōn-, praecīsiō act of cutting off, act of breaking off (in speech), truncated end, in post-classical Latin also separation, schism (late 4th cent.), excommunication (13th cent. in British sources), precision, exactitude (from 13th cent. in British sources) < praecīs- , past participial stem of praecīdere precide v. + -iō -ion suffix¹. Compare Spanish precisión (1507 or earlier), Italian precisione (a1642).With sense A. 1 compare later prescission n. A. n. 1. Chiefly Philosophy. The action or an act of separating or cutting off, esp. the mental separation of one fact or idea from another; abstraction, definition.In quot. 1683: = reservation n. 6a. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ceasing > [noun] > causing cessation of action or operation > abruptly precision1529 prescission1583 the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > [noun] > separating of ideas precision1529 abstraction1579 abstractionism1842 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > keeping from knowledge > hidden or indirect meaning > [noun] > mental reservation mental reservation1606 restriction1607 precision1683 mentals1712 the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > an explanation, definition > [noun] > precise or specific specification1633 precision1690 1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters ii. v. f. liiii It is not this company and congregacyon of all these nacyons that wythout faccions taken & precysyon from the remenaunt profese y^e name & fayth of Cryst? c1570 Art of Music (BL Add. 4911) f. 27, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Precisione Diminucioun..is a precisione of the mid part in mesur not[h]ing discrepant fro semidit. 1640 G. Watts tr. F. Bacon Of Advancem. Learning v. v. 255 We call Prenotion a Precision of endlesse investigation. 1683 D. A. Whole Art Converse 95 You can neither tye them by Promise, nor by Oath; for if they Promise or Swear, 'tis with a mental Precision. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. x. 245 The taking Matter to be the name of something really existing under that Precision,..has..produced..obscure..Discourses. 1710 G. Berkeley Treat. Princ. Human Knowl. Introd. §9 As the mind frames to itself abstract ideas of qualities or modes, so does it, by the same precision, or mental separation, attain abstract ideas of the more compounded beings. 1760 R. Griffith & E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (ed. 2) II. cclxxi. 255 This Definition I look upon to be more imperfect, and of a more dangerous Tendency, than any of the three precisions he has so ingeniously proved the Insufficiency of. 1917 T. S. Eliot Prufrock & Other Observ. 27 Whispering lunar incantations Dissolve the floors of the memory And all its clear relations Its divisions and precisions. 1983 N. J. Wells tr. F. Suárez On Essence of Finite Being 228 If those two be compared in terms of reason or a mental precision, existence is placed before essence. 2. a. An instance of exactness or preciseness; a particular, nicety, minute detail, esp. of language. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > the quality of being specific > [noun] > quality of being specific or detailed > a detail or particular > details or particulars > minute precision1695 minutiae1748 minutia1796 perjinkities1822 fine print1949 1695 J. Locke Further Considerations conc. Raising Value of Money 93 I have left out the utmost precisions of Fractions in these Computations. a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) II. xvi. 328 Her husband was really deserving of her..being to a precision the most charming young man in the world. View more context for this quotation 1886 Jrnl. Anthropol. Inst. 15 383 No doubt the highly complex feelings of the mind are incapable of being stated with numerical precisions. 1907 Athenæum 9 Mar. 282/3 He [sc. Henry James] must..deck it with the most elaborated precisions of impreciseness. 1927 Amer. Mercury Feb. 193/1 Mr. Harlow, in accordance with whim and natures, had a love for intelligent precisions of speech. 1996 Washington Post (Nexis) 3 Mar. (Books section) 8 He doesn't capture the cadences or precisions of 19th-century American speech. b. The fact, condition, or quality of being precise; exactness, accuracy. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [noun] nicetya1393 curiosityc1400 suretya1500 justness1533 preciseness1569 accurateness1611 punctuality1620 punctualness1620 mathematicality1641 accuracy1644 expressness1645 exactness1646 veracity1666 niceness1678 correctness1684 criticalness1693 precision1698 punctuosity1733 definitude1836 minutia1849 definition1866 1698 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus I. i. ii. 14 We..ought to look upon all the Projects of restoring the Antiquity of Times to a nice Exactness and Precision, as foolish and chimerical. 1740 G. Cheyne Ess. Regimen Pref. 12 Precision is incompatible with Finitude. 1780 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) IV. i. 26 He knew how to omit exactness, when the result of the whole demands a less precision in parts. 1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. App. 185 Precision is the third requisite of perspicuity with respect to words and phrases: It signifies retrenching superfluities, and pruning the expression, so as to exhibit neither more nor less than an exact copy of the person's idea who uses it. 1860 J. L. Motley Hist. Netherlands (1868) I. ii. 36 A right-angled triangle of almost mathematical precision. 1877 T. H. Huxley Physiography Pref. 6 The precision of statement, which..distinguishes science from common information. 1900 Times 2 Jan. 13/6 Intrenched positions in attack as well as in defence in combination with weapons of precision. 1930 A. P. Herbert Water Gipsies xxi. 311 The ‘Long Two’ cannot be fumbled; luck can do little; precision is everything. 1981 M. Keane Good Behaviour xxxiv. 230 With careful and delicate precision I poured the ginger ale, just enough and not a drop too much. 2004 A. Hollinghurst Line of Beauty xviii. 486 It was the sound of the world he moved in,..the tuned precision of a closing door. c. The degree of refinement in a measurement, calculation, or specification, esp. as represented by the number of digits given. Contrasted with accuracy (the closeness of the measurement, etc., to the correct value). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > particular qualities > estimated or approximate estimation1508 slump number1721 approximate1784 precision1842 rounding1842 1842 J. Gunmere Elem. Treat. Astron. (ed. 3) Preface A table..of Logarithmic Sines and Tangents to four decimal figures... These are convenient in many computations not requiring greater precision. 1899 Publ. Amer. Econ. Assoc. No. 2. 132 No astronomer's calculations have ever yet reached a precision of one part in sixty million. 1948 Math. Tables & Other Aids Computation 3 286 Numbers are stored to a precision of 35 binary digits. 1962 Gloss. Terms Automatic Date Processing (B.S.I.) 14 A result may have more precision than it has accuracy, e.g. the true value of π to eight decimal figures is 3·1415927; the expression π = 3·1415249 is precise to eight figures but accurate only to about five. 1970 H. A. Rodgers Dict. Data Processing Terms 81/1 Strictly speaking there is a difference of precision between 1,000 and 1. × 10³; in the first case the low-order zeros are known to have that value while in the second case all that is known is the explicit digit and the multiplier. 1996 Nature 15 Aug. 588/1 We have developed an imaging polarimeter system that can routinely record the Sun's spectrum with a precision of 10⁻⁵ in the degree of polarization. d. Statistics. The reproducibility or reliability of a measurement or numerical result; a quantity expressing this. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > ability to yield correct or concordant result robustness?1533 precision1876 reliability1909 1876 Analyst 3 137 The most usual method to compare the precision of different systems is by means of probable error. 1906 Acta Univ. Lundensis Ny Följd 1 v. 7 k is called the measure of precision. 1911 G. U. Yule Introd. Theory Statistics xiii. 253 The reliability or precision of an observed proportion varies as the square root of the number of observations on which it is based. 1957 M. G. Kendall & W. R. Buckland Dict. Statist. Terms 224 Precision is a quality associated with a class of measurements and refers to the way in which repeated observations conform to themselves; and in a somewhat narrower sense refers to the dispersion of the observations, or some measure of it. 1974 Nature 8 Nov. 137/1 Radioactive isotopic dates invariably include their precision, that is, the repeatability, yet most earth scientists still take these figures as measures of accuracy. e. The accuracy of an information retrieval system, expressed as the proportion of items retrieved by a particular search that are relevant. Cf. recall n. 3b. ΚΠ 1965 Communications ACM 8 397 Recall is high if much of the material relevant to a given search request is in fact retrieved; precision, on the other hand, is high if very little irrelevant material is retrieved at the same time. 1975 Information Processing & Managem. 11 245 The value of H_t for 5% Recall and 38% Precision, from curve A, is 0·0021. 2003 Information Technol., Learning, & Performance Jrnl. (Nexis) Oct. 1 If 100 records are retrieved from the database system and 90 records are found to be relevant, the precision is 90%. B. adj. (attributive). Possessing or intended to possess exactness of performance, execution, or construction. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective] > of tools, materials, etc.: accurate truec1392 just?1556 precise1561 finea1566 delicate1581 nicea1628 exact1665 sensible1678 sensitive1820 precision1875 pin-sharp1933 1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 263/1 The theory of the common balance as we see it working in every grocer's shop, and..of the modern precision balance. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 7 Dec. 5/2 They did not know which to marvel at most, the wonderful automatic precision machines,..or the staff responsible for their working. 1937 Discovery Apr. 112/1 These are real precision instruments,..with lens of aperture fi·9 such as the old plate cameras never knew. 1966 ‘H. MacDiarmid’ Company I've Kept viii. 187 I qualified as a precision fitter and obtained a job with a big general engineering firm. 1975 G. Bram & C. Downs Manuf. Technol. i. 7 Gauge blocks are used as standards of measurement or reference in most precision-engineering works. 1995 Daily Mail 2 Jan. 76/5 But he made up for his miss in the 25th minute with a precision pass that sent centre Shaun Irwin sprinting over for a try. Compounds C1. Forming adjectives in the sense ‘with precision’. precision-built adj. ΚΠ 1922 Lincoln (Nebraska) State Jrnl. 30 Apr. 5/3 (advt.) It is precision-built to the last detail. 1992 Autosport 23 Apr. 17/1 (advt.) A precision-built, intercooled, twin-turbocharger system. precision-engineered adj. ΚΠ 1935 Edwardsville (Illinois) Intelligencer 27 Mar. 8/4 (advt.) Features that assure stamina and long life are evident in every detail of the precision-engineered chassis. 1992 Economist 3 Oct. 77/1 (advt.) Three precision engineered hydraulic ‘shock absorbers’ provide dynamic resistance. precision-made adj. ΚΠ 1921 Washington Post 18 Dec. 71/5 (advt.) Equipped with powerful smooth-running precision-made motor. 1992 Independent 6 Feb. 6/8 The neat rows of baleen plates in its [sc. a whale's] mouth which resembled a precision-made radiator. C2. precision agriculture n. an approach to agricultural practice in which processes are finely adjusted, in response to natural variation within and between sites and crops, in order to improve productivity, quality, sustainability, etc.The practice of precision agriculture now typically makes use of information technology such as computer modelling, GPS systems, sensors, and automated machinery. ΚΠ 1955 Petoskey (Mich.) News-Rev. 19 Apr. 7/3 That's a good thing in these days of precision agriculture, comments Carolus, because it makes it possible to spot troubles immediately and correct them by adding the necessary quantity of the minor nutrients to the mixture. 1965 Wisconsin State Jrnl. 8 Aug. iv. 2/2 This kind of agriculture is what W. H. Gabelman, chairman of the University of Wisconsin horticulture department, calls 'precision agriculture'. It combines the important asset of irrigation with the advancing technologies of field work and harvesting. As such it has attracted major vegetable grower and processor interest from all parts of the nation. 1996 Jrnl. Soil & Water Conserv. Jan. 38/2 A farmer who spot sprays a field for weed control..is practicing precision agriculture. 2017 Times (Nexis) 18 Sept. 10 We are in the fourth agricultural revolution and it's a digital revolution... It's about taking huge data streams to develop precision agriculture that can target specific areas of a field or specific areas of a plant. precision approach radar n. a ground-based radar system used to follow accurately the approach of an aircraft and to enable landing to be supervised from the ground. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > instrument for detection > [noun] > radar system radiolocation1935 televisibility1940 radar1941 precision approach radar1950 PAR1951 MTI1956 AWACS1966 1950 Electronics Feb. 71/1 (heading) Airport surveillance and precision approach radar (GCA). 1965 J. L. Nayler & E. Ower Aviation To-day xvii. 250/2 Ground Controlled Approach.., also known as Precision Approach Radar, gives the position of an approaching aircraft in elevation, azimuth, and range relative to the touch-down point on the runway. 1997 AOPA Pilot Nov. 45 During an electrical failure..a precision approach radar..may be your only ticket to the ground in one piece. precision bombing n. the practice or policy of bombing specific (usually military or industrial) targets rather than bombing indiscriminately over large areas. ΚΠ 1934 Times 21 July 9/1 If a bomber unit decides to adopt precision bombing, it must release its missiles at high altitude. 2003 N.Y. Times Mag. 20 Apr. 32/1 The emphasis will be on the role of technology—precision bombing, cruise missiles, decapitation strikes. precision-guided adj. Military (of a missile, weapon, etc.) remotely or automatically guided to attack a specific target. ΚΠ 1956 N.Y. Times 23 Sept. w21/1 (advt.) Automatic guidance engineers to initiate and conduct tests of complex precision guided missile assemblies. 2001 C. Coker Humane Warfare i. 15 The increasing accuracy of precision-guided weapons has made war much more discriminating than in the past. precision medicine n. medical care designed to optimize efficiency or therapeutic benefit for particular groups of patients, especially by using genetic or molecular profiling. ΚΠ 1992 LACMA Physician 16 Mar. 27/2 He described several areas where developments could lead to, or already are leading to, precision medicine. 2007 J.R. Turner New Drug Devel. xiv. 227 The practice of precision medicine is predicated on knowledge of a person's genotype. 2014 New Yorker 15 Sept. 48/3 Precision medicine has been made possible in part by advances in computer technology, enabling scientists to depict enzymes, receptors, and other key cellular molecules in exquisite, three-dimensional detail. precision tool n. a tool used for fine and precise work; also in extended use. ΚΠ 1911 Times 11 Jan. 21/6 (advt.) The finest Stock of High-Class Mechanical Tools in this Kingdom. A large variety of Starrett's Fine Precision Tools. 1950 Times 27 Oct. 2/3 Modern photography has established itself both as a precision tool and as an art. 1956 G. Willans Whizz for Atomms v. 97 You catch the old works bus and clock-in, put on your overalls, chaff the gurls, turn on the air conditioning, open the marshmallows and switch on the old precision tool. 2004 Financial Times (Nexis) 29 May (Weekend section) 11 All the work is done by hand using precision tools such as scalpels and dental drills. precision-tooled adj. made using precision tools; finely and exactly made. ΚΠ 1932 Middletown (N.Y.) Times Herald 1 Feb. 4/3 [An aircraft engine] has practically no intricate, precision tooled parts. 1954 Times 11 Mar. 3/1 (advt.) The Viceroy's shaving heads..are scientifically designed, precision-tooled and superbly finished to give you fast, skin-level shaves. 2001 GQ Nov. 54/4 Follow these precision-tooled rules and an evening of inhibition-dismissing frivolity is guaranteed. Derivatives preˈcisional adj. of or characterized by precision (in various senses). ΚΠ 1861 A. J. Davis Great Harmonia (ed. 5) V. ii. 237 His precisional applications of this eternal Principle may (or may not) be unphilosophical, and out of beat with the fixed laws which roll and shape the ends of nations. 1938 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity (ed. 2) v. 16 We are concerned with precisional measurements. 2000 Social Forces 79 376 A third type of predictive accuracy..need not be considered because the reliability and completeness of measurement do not warrant precisional comparisons of contending theories. preˈcisioner n. rare = precisionist n. 1. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [noun] > truthful person > one who professes accuracy descriptionist1819 precisionist1827 precisioner1892 1892 Century Nov. 37/1 Honor the enduring precisioners by our own grateful remembrance. 1902 Times 15 July 10/2 It is not an air to be breathed freely by pedants, or prudes, or precisioners. 1952 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press 5 Apr. 9/4 Veteran pen precisioner [at Parker pen factory]. preˈcisionism n. the practice of precision in behaviour and action (cf. precisianism n.); (also) the doctrine or practice of the Precisionists (cf. precisionist n. 2). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [noun] > acting according to some standard, fashion, etc. > strict or rigorous conformity austerenessa1450 rigour1536 preciseness1545 precisianism1573 rigorism1704 precisionism1868 1868 H. Kingsley Mathilde II. vi. 94 She had disliked André Desilles and his precisionism all her life. 1984 S. Landau Dictionaries 351 MW9 has abandoned this exercise in specious precisionism. 2001 S. Harrison Pop Art & Origins Post-modernism iii. v. 121 A similar relationship linked precisionism, a Cubist variant on the same art, and minimalism. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.adj.1529
随便看	facilitator facilitators facilitatory facilite facilities faciliting facility facilize facinerious facinerose facing facing and bracing facing bar facing block facing board facing brick facing implement facing loam facing machine facing off facing page facing pavior facing point lock facing points facing sand