Precocious

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /pɹəˈkəʊʃəs/

Definitions

1. Showing mature abilities or knowledge at an unusually early age, especially in intellectual or artistic pursuits
2. Demonstrating advanced development or exceptional capability well before the typical age for such achievement
3. Exhibiting unusually sophisticated understanding or talent at a remarkably young stage of life

Etymology: The word's original picture is agricultural: Latin "praecox" described fruit that ripened ahead of its season, and "praecoquō" meant to ripen beforehand. The "prae" part means "before," and "coquō" means "to cook, boil, or ripen," the same root that gives English "cook" and "concoct." So a plum that came in early was, in Roman terms, literally "cooked before time." The Latin metaphor moved from fruit to people. Once applied to a child or young mind that developed faster than usual, the sense of "ripe too early" carried over naturally, and it is that human sense English adopted. The same Latin root produced a surprising cousin: "apricot." That word came through the Mediterranean as a fruit that ripened early, and it is a doublet of "precocious," meaning the two English words descend from the same Latin source by different routes.

Synonyms: advanced, forward, smart, bright, talented

Antonyms: slow, backward, delayed, immature, retarded