precisian

American  

[pri-sizh-uhn] / prɪˈsɪʒ ən /

noun

1. a person who adheres punctiliously to the observance of rules or forms, especially in matters of religion.

2. one of the English Puritans of the 16th and 17th centuries.

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precisian British  

/ prɪˈsɪʒən /

noun

1. a punctilious observer of rules or forms, esp in the field of religion

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Other Word Forms

• precisianism
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of precisian

First recorded in 1565–75; precise + -ian

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

precisian

Her mouth was scarlet, all curves, and her complexion was famous for its brilliancy; only a precisian would have objected that she possessed the Valois nose, long and thin and somewhat unduly overhanging the mouth.

From Chivalry by James Branch Cabell

He was a pathetic figure, Arthur Gideon, the intolerant precisian, fighting savagely against the tide of loose thinking that he saw surging in upon him, swamping the world and drowning facts.

From Potterism A Tragi-Farcical Tract by Dame Rose Macaulay

The precisian, they say, disapproved of Danton's lax and heedless courses.

From Critical Miscellanies (Vol. 1 of 3) Essay 1: Robespierre by John Morley

"I believe I am something of a precisian myself, but upon such a consideration, and in Paris, I should not hesitate an instant."

From New Arabian Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson

I would he had been a precisian instead of a galliard, and I should have had better heart to aid thy revenge.

From The Fair Maid of Perth Or, St. Valentine's Day by Sir Walter Scott

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