precaution

 
Pronunciation: /prɪˈkɔːʃ(ə)n/

noun

  • a measure taken in advance to prevent something dangerous, unpleasant, or inconvenient from happening: he had taken the precaution of seeking legal advice
  • (precautions) informal contraception: we never took precautions

Origin:

late 16th century (in the sense 'prudent foresight'): from French précaution, from late Latin praecautio(n-), from Latin praecavere, from prae 'before' + cavere 'take heed, beware of'