precept

Noun
US[pree-sept]/ˈpriˌsɛpt/2 syllables
Synonyms: principleteachingcommandment

Open English WordNet

Noun (2)

  1. rule of personal conductSynonyms: principleType of rule, prescriptKinds hypothetical imperative, moral principle, higher law, caveat emptorPart of ethic, ethical code
  2. a doctrine that is taught“the teachings of religion”“he believed all the Christian precepts”Synonyms: teachingcommandmentType of doctrine, philosophyKinds Golden Rule, mitzvah
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onerousadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Pre′cept noun

Origin: L. praeceptum, from praecipere to take beforehand, to instruct, teach; prae before + capere to take: cf. F. précepte. See Pre-, and Capacious.

1. Any commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action; esp., a command respecting moral conduct; an injunction; a rule.

For precept must be upon precept.— Isa. xxviii. 10.
No arts are without their precepts.— John Dryden

2. Law A command in writing; a species of writ or process. Alexander Mansfield. Burrill

Synonyms: Commandment; injunction; mandate; law; rule; direction; principle; maxim. See Doctrine.

Pre′cept transitive verb

To teach by precepts. obsolete Francis, Baron Verulam Bacon

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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