Caveated

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A term that conveys the presence of reservations or conditions attached to a proposal or statement
2. A phrase indicating that a declaration is not absolute and includes specific limitations or stipulations
3. Expressed with a caution or specific limitation included

Etymology: "Caveated" is the past form of "caveat," so its story is really the story of the verb's source. "Caveat" is a Latin word: "caveat" is the third-person singular subjunctive of "caveō," meaning "to beware of," so it literally means "may he/she/it beware." English took it over directly as a learned borrowing, keeping the Latin form and its legal flavour of a formal warning. The surprise is a family link. "Caveat" is a doublet of "show," meaning the two words descend from the same ancient root with different paths into English. Both trace back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to heed, look, feel, take note of," so a word about watching carefully and a word about displaying something are cousins. Over time, the noun "caveat" came to mean a formal notice or condition, and from that the verb and adjective "caveated" describe a proposal or statement hedged with exactly such conditions.

Synonyms: qualified, conditioned, restricted

Antonyms: unqualified, absolute