Eggcorn Forum

‘Precautious’ is a perfectly good, if uncommon, word; the adjectival form of ‘precaution.’ (Though a google search shows that a lot of people use it as a fancy synonym for ‘cautious.’) It has no direct connecion to ‘precocious.’ However, one way for a child to manifest precocity is to exhibit the more cautious and deliberate cognitive style of someone older- hence the eggcornish substitution in the first 2 examples below. I’m less sure about whether or not the other examples are just mistakes.

Charlotte was a precautious and disciplined child. She spoke fluently French, German and English and later on she learned Italian and Spanish.
www.uia.net/~sbpl/may_19_02.html

Attachment, the development of the self, and its pathology in … coping with arousal and ambivalence through a precautious over-control of affect ...
www.psychomedia.it/pm/modther/probpsiter/fonagy-2.htm

precautious talent of certain children to pick up knowledge can be explained only by reincarnation.
www.quangduc.com/English/science/15buddhismscience.htm

I was a precautious child,...I still remember a room crammed with little kids, shouting the syllabary …
www.senamirmir.com/interviews/ theme/4-2006/dtw/gg_upclose_and_personal.html

precautious development of the pancreatic gland can be considered and achieved by hormonal therapy, as long as we know the potential players.
content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF& ProduktNr=224215&Ausgabe=225286&Art…

Precautious Puberty in a 3-Year-Old Male. D. Iliev. a. , B. Vassileva-Klisarska. b. a. University Children’s Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria,. b. Sofia, Bulgaria …
content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF& ProduktNr=224036&Ausgabe=227983&Art…