peril
pronunciation
How to pronounce peril in British English:
UK [ˈperəl]
How to pronounce peril in American English:
US [ˈperəl]
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- Noun:
- a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
- a state of danger involving risk
- a venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury
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- Verb:
- pose a threat to; present a danger to
- put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position
Word Origin
- peril
- peril: [13] Etymologically, peril means a ‘trying out of something’, an ‘experiment’. The word comes via Old French peril from Latin perīculum ‘experiment, danger’, a noun formed from the base *per- ‘attempt’ (which also lies behind English empiric, experience, expert, pirate, and repertory). Its derivative perīculōsus originally reached English via Old French as perilous [13], but subsequently became contracted to parlous [14].=> empiric, experience, expert, parlous, pirate, repertory
- peril (n.)
- c. 1200, from Old French peril "danger, risk" (10c.), from Latin periculum "an attempt, trial, experiment; risk, danger," with instrumentive suffix -culum and first element from PIE *peri-tlo-, suffixed form of root *per- (3) "to lead, pass over" (cognates: Latin experiri "to try;" Greek peria "trial, attempt, experience," empeiros "experienced;" Old Irish aire "vigilance;" Gothic ferja "watcher;" Old English fær "danger, calamity"); related to *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per).
Example
- 1. They therefore cannot predict the peril of new ideas .
- 2. Console and computer gamers can scoff at their peril .
- 3. China ignores such risks at its peril .
- 4. Investors do that at their peril .
- 5. He redeemed us from deadly peril .