pre- + caution

source: GIFs for those FFXIV moments

a measure taken in advance to prevent something dangerous, unpleasant, or inconvenient from happening:

«…に対する/…する» 用心, 備え, 予防策 «against/to do, of doing»

e.g. he had taken the precaution of seeking legal advice.

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 of, take beware of’.