caveat
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkævɪæt/
ipa: /ˈkeɪ-/
ipa: /ˈkæviɑt/
ipa: /-æt/
Forms: form: caveats
form: caveating
form: caveated
form: caveated
Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin caveat (“may he/she/it beware”), third-person singular present active subjunctive of caveō (“I beware of”). Doublet of show, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁- (“to heed, look, feel, take note of”).
Senses: examples: text: The Emperor smiled more than a half smile. / "I am not sure," he said, "that any harm was done, anyhow." / "What!" cried Brinnaria. "You excuse me? You defend me?" / "Softly! Softly!" the Emperor caveatted, raising his hand. "I do not acquit you nor exonerate you. But I do make allowances.[…]"
ref: 1918, Edward Lucas White, “Conference”, in The Unwilling Vestal: A Tale of Rome under the Cæsars, New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton & Company, 681 Fifth Avenue, →OCLC, page 121:
text: Some years ago, General Alexander Haig […] was widely criticized (and parodied) for using nouns as verbs in a highly idiosyncratic way, known as Haigspeak: phrases like "I'll have to caveat my response, Senator, and I'll caveat that", […] From one point of view, however, Haig was merely displaying the virtuosity of English, if not its grace.
ref: [1992, Robert McCrum, William Cran, Robert MacNeil, The Story of English, new and revised edition, London; Boston, Mass.: Faber and Faber; London: BBC Books, →ISBN, page 30:
text: I want to caveat everything I say with the disclaimer that I was working from photos.
ref: 1996, Ray[mond M.] Saunders, Blood Tells: A Thriller, Novato, Calif.: Lyford Books, →ISBN, page 217:
text: Here, by clarifying and caveatting assumptions, and revealing hidden assumption, we reduce the number of worlds in which the prediction is valid. This means that the prediction puts fewer constraints on our expectations. In counterpart, of course, the caveatted prediction is likely to be true.
ref: 2015, Stuart Armstrong, Kaj Sotala, “How We’re Predicting AI – or Failing to”, in Jan Romportl, Eva Zakova, Jozef Kelemen, editors, Beyond Artificial Intelligence: The Disappearing Human–Machine Divide (Topics in Intelligent Engineering and Informatics; 9), Cham, Switzerland: Springer, →DOI, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 19:
text: Ukrainian Ground Forces spokesperson Dmytro Lykhovii told Ukrainian media Tuesday that “some Russian military units” were moved to Kursk from occupied southern Ukraine. Lykhovii caveated, however, that Russia had already amassed “a large number of personnel” in the southern Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia region.
ref: 2024 August 14, Maria Kostenko and Sugam Pokharel, “Lithuanian defense minister claims Russia is moving its troops from Kaliningrad to Kursk”, in CNN World:
qualifier: regarded by some as nonstandard
glosses: To qualify a statement with a caveat or proviso.
examples: text: But of all the Strategems to prevent the obtaining of Licences, commend me to that of entring Caveats againſt one another's Curates; a Project of vaſt Contrivance, and worthy the renowned Head that firſt invented it. By this means, 'tis eaſy to ſee, that if there be but Confederacy enough among the Incumbents, and Corruption enough in the Officer that receives them, the whole Body of Curates may be demoliſhed at once. "Tis but changing Hands, my caveating yours, and your caveating my Curate, and then a Fig for the Canons, that require them to be licenc'd Preachers."
ref: 1722, “a clergyman of the Church of England” [pseudonym; Thomas Stackhouse], The Miseries and Great Hardships of the Inferiour Clergy, in and about London. And a Modest Plea for Their Rights, and Better Usage; in a Letter to the Right Reverend Father in God, John Lord Bishop of London, London: Printed for T[homas] Payne, at the Crown in Pater-Noster-Row, →OCLC, paragraph 3, page 175:
text: With the facts that may thus be brought distinctly before the public, it may soon become generally understood whether Professor [Royal Earl] House's Letter Printing telegraph (the only American telegraph patented in Great Britain and other European kingdoms as well as in the United States) is any infringement of Prof. [Samuel] Morse's patent, or of anything which Prof. Morse has a right to claim; and it will also be seen whether the telegraph system caveatted in the United States Patent office by Col. Charles B. Moss, of Virginia, under claim for a patent, (in the same way that Prof. Morse caveatted his "vital" "principle" as late as 1845–6) is or is not at least as original and effective as any telegraph that makes arbitrary signs like the dots and lines first used by [Carl August von] Steinheil and by Davey^([sic – meaning Edward Davy]) in 1837 and 1838, and afterwards combined by Prof. Morse in his first patent of 1840.
ref: 1847 October 16, “Magnetic Telegraph”, in American Railroad Journal and General Advertiser for Railroads, Canals, Steamboats, Machinery and Mines, volume III, number 42 (Second Quarto Series; volume XX, number 591 overall), Philadelphia, Pa.: Published by D. K. Minor, editor and proprietor, No. 105 Chestnut Street, →OCLC, page 659, column 2:
text: Hurst in right of his wife, by counsel, on the 21st June, 1855, entered his caveat against the foregoing return and vouchers, and objected. […] 3d. He caveats the charge of fifty dollars paid McIntyre & Young, for making returns, as illegal and not a proper charge against ward. 4th. He also caveats the two expenditures to McIntyre & Ward and C. B. Cole, each for $150 00, as illegal, being for professional services rendered in defending himself in a suit against for mal-administration as guardian.
ref: 1857, B. Y. Martin (reporter), “No. 7.—William H. Hendry, guardian, plaintiff in error, vs. James M. Hurst and wife, defendants in error.”, in Reports of Cases in Law and Equity, Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, …, volume XXII, Columbus, Ga.: Times and Sentinel Steam Press, published 1858, →OCLC, page 314:
topics: law
glosses: To formally object to something.
examples: text: It is unclear whether or not a purchaser upon exchange of contracts will be regarded as guilty of postponing conduct if failing to caveat.
ref: 2005, Geoffrey Moore, “Torrens Title: Priorities between Unregistered Interests”, in David Barker, editor, Essential Real Property (Cavendish Essential Series), Coogee, N.S.W.: Cavendish Publishing (Australia), →ISBN, page 93:
topics: law
glosses: To formally object to something.
To lodge a formal notice of interest in land under a Torrens land-title system.
examples: text: The answer further alleged that the intestate, in right of his wife, caveated the probate in Virginia of the will of one William Hill, her relation; […]
ref: 1838 June, Judge William Gaston, “Hannah Gee v. Henry Gee and Peyton R. Tunstall”, in Thomas P. Devereux, William H[orn] Battle, editors, Reports of Cases in Equity, Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of North Carolina. From June Term, 1838, to December Term, 1839, both Inclusive, volume II, Raleigh, N.C.: Published by Turner and Hughes; Thos. J. Lemay, printer, published 1840, →OCLC, page 108:
text: The defendant, father of the testator, had caveated against granting of probate on the ground that the will was not duly executed, and that deceased did not know or approve of its contents.
ref: 1913 December 6, Justice Street, “Probate Court. (Before Mr. Justice Street.) Disputed Will. Wills v. Craven.”, in The Sydney Morning Herald, page 5:
topics: law
glosses: To issue a notice requesting that proceedings be suspended.
examples: text: […] I beseach you to caveat any addresse being fully heard until some person commissioned from this Countrey be their to confront the sayd Dutch or their complices.
ref: 1663 December 14, Jo[hn] Scott; John Romeyn Brodhead, comp., “Captain John Scott to Under Secrᵗʸ [Joseph] Williamson. [Plant. Genl. Miscell. Bundle. State Paper Office.]”, in Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York; Procured in Holland, England and France, by John Romeyn Broadhead, Esq., Agent, under and by virtue of an Act of the Legislature Entitled “An Act to Appoint an Agent to Procure and Transcribe Documents in Europe, Relative to the Colonial History of the State,” Passed May 2, 1839, volume III, Albany, N.Y.: Weed, Parsons and Company, printers, published 1853, →OCLC, page 48:
text: It is said that the herb Christswoort, or Christmas flower, in plain English Black Helebore, (so called from its springing about this time) helpeth madnesse, distraction, purgeth melancholy and dulnesse. This last expression minds me to caveat the Reader, not to be angry at Helebore because it's called Christmas flowre; for it, poore thing, hurts no body that lets it alone, […] [quoting V. Annand's Mysterium Pietatis, pages 24–25.]
ref: 1825, John Jamieson, “CHRISTSWOORT, Christmas Flower”, in Supplement to the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language: […], volume I (A–J) (in Scots), Edinburgh: […] University Press; for W[illiam] & C[harles] Tait, […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, →OCLC, page 210, column 1:
glosses: To warn or caution against some event.
Derived terms: caveatable
caveatee
caveator
caveatory
caveatrix
patent caveat
uncaveated
Related terms: word: caveat emptor
word: caveat lector
word: caveat loan
word: caveating
word: proviso