Literary notes about Precipitous (AI summary)
In literature, the word “precipitous” is used to evoke an immediate sense of extreme steepness or abruptness, whether describing natural landscapes or metaphorically conveying rapid change. Authors employ it to illustrate daunting natural elements such as sheer cliffs, rugged crags, and dangerous mountain paths—for instance, depicting a descent into a valley as “more precipitous” ([1]) or a fortified rock surrounded on all sides by nearly inaccessible heights ([2]). At times, its use extends beyond physical descriptions to suggest an abrupt shift in circumstance or tone, as when a character’s situation suddenly narrows into a “precipitous crevice” of emotion or thought ([3], [4]). This versatility allows “precipitous” to become a powerful descriptor in narrative prose, capturing both the physical peril of extreme terrain and the metaphorical sharpness of sudden transitions in life or art.
- On the south, toward the James, the descent is more precipitous.
— from Vermont riflemen in the war for the union, 1861 to 1865A history of Company F, First United States sharp shooters by William Young Warren Ripley - On the fifth day of his march, he arrived at Celaenae, 191 in which city there was a fortified rock, precipitous on all sides.
— from The Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian - Still he went on, for his mind was as utterly narrowed into that precipitous crevice of play as if he had been the most ignorant lounger there.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot - Know ye the delight which rolleth stones into precipitous depths?—Those men of to-day, see just how they roll into my depths!
— from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
