Meaning

adjective characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or maturity (especially in mental aptitude)

adjective appearing or developing early

originFrom Latin praecox (“premature, precocious, ripe before time, early ripe”), from praecoquō (“to ripen beforehand, ripen fully, also boil beforehand”), from prae (“before”) + coquō (“to cook, boil, ripen”). Doublet of apricot.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0