Précis

By Deane Barker • • tags: definition •

Definition: A concise summary or briefing about something

It’s the French word for “precise.”

Why I Looked It Up

In The Kaiju Preservation Society:

Aparna goggled at the massive binder. “This is a precis?”

Note: in that situation, it was spelled without the accent, though technically the word includes the accent (it’s ALT+0233 on Windows).

Then, a couple weeks later, in a plot summary of Neuromancer:

The Hosaka presents a précis like a slideshow…

With the accent that time.

Links from this – The Kaiju Preservation Society September 25, 2023
This is a fun, lightweight science fiction novel about an alternate Earth with “kaiju” exist – essentially large monsters, like Godzilla. It’s a lot like Jurassic Park. (“Kaiju” is a Japanese word for “strange beast.” It’s become a genre for Japanese monster movies.) The author provides some great...
Links from this – Neuromancer October 15, 2023
I tried to read this years ago, but didn’t get too far. It’s a weirdly tough read. I picked it up in an airport on the way home from a conference and tried again. Gibson has an odd writing style. He’s done a lot of world-building, and he uses all sorts of nomenclature and jargon without much...