peril

See also: péril

English

Etymology

From Middle English peril, from Old French peril, from Latin perīculum. Doublet of periculum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛɹɪl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛɹəl/
• Rhymes: -ɛɹɪl, -ɛɹəl

Noun

peril (countable and uncountable, plural perils)

1. A situation of serious and immediate danger.

   Your life is in peril.

2. Something that causes, contains, or presents danger.

   the perils of the jungle (animals and insects, weather, etc.)

3. (insurance) An event which causes a loss, or the risk of a specific such event.

Synonyms

• danger, hazard, jeopardy, risk, threat
• See also Thesaurus:danger

Derived terms

• at one's peril
• imperil
• peril point
• yellow peril

 

Related terms

• imperil
• perilous
• English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *per- (risk) (0 c, 13 e)

Translations

a situation of serious danger

• Arabic: خَطَر (ḵaṭar)

  Egyptian Arabic: خطر m (ḵaṭar)

• Armenian: վտանգ (hy) (vtang)
• Bulgarian: опасност (bg) f (opasnost)
• Catalan: perill (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 危險 / 危险 (zh) (wéixiǎn)

• Czech: nebezpečí (cs)
• Danish: fare (da) c
• Dutch: gevaar (nl)
• Esperanto: danĝero (eo)
• Finnish: vaara (fi), vaaratilanne
• French: péril (fr), risque (fr) m
• German: Gefahr (de) f, Risiko (de) n
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌹𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌴𐌹 f (bireikei), 𐍃𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌸𐌴𐌹 f (sleiþei)
• Greek:

  Ancient: κίνδυνος m (kíndunos)

• Hungarian: veszély (hu), veszedelem (hu)
• Italian: periglio m, pericolo (it) m
• Japanese: 危険 (ja) (きけん, kiken)
• Latin: periculum (la)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fare (no) m

• Ottoman Turkish: قورقو (korku), تهلكه (tehlike)
• Plautdietsch: Jefoa f
• Polish: niebezpieczeństwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: perigo (pt) m
• Romanian: pericol (ro) n
• Russian: опа́сность (ru) f (opásnostʹ), риск (ru) m (risk), угро́за (ru) f (ugróza)
• Scottish Gaelic: cunnart m, gàbhadh m
• Spanish: peligro (es) m, riesgo (es) m, discrimen m
• Swedish: fara (sv) c
• Tocharian A: sanu
• Tocharian B: ñyātse
• Zazaki: risk, riziko

something that causes, contains, or presents danger

• Armenian: վտանգ (hy) (vtang)
• Bulgarian: риск (bg) m (risk)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 冒險 / 冒险 (zh) (màoxiǎn)

• Czech: ohrožení (cs), nebezpečí (cs)
• Danish: risiko (da) c
• Finnish: vaara (fi)
• French: risque (fr) m
• German: Risiko (de) n
• Hungarian: veszély (hu)
• Japanese: 冒険 (ja) (ぼうけん, bōken)
• Plautdietsch: Jefoa f
• Polish: zagrożenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: risco (pt) m, perigo (pt) m
• Russian: опа́сность (ru) f (opásnostʹ), угро́за (ru) f (ugróza)
• Scottish Gaelic: cunnart m, gàbhadh m
• Spanish: riesgo (es) m, peligro (es) m, discrimen m
• Tocharian A: sanu

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} péril (fr)
• German: ^{(please verify)} Risiko (de) n
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} סכנה (he) (sakana)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} pericolo (it)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} fara (sv), ^{(please verify)} risk (sv)

Verb

peril (third-person singular simple present perils, present participle periling or perilling, simple past and past participle periled or perilled)

1. (transitive) To cause to be in danger; to imperil; to risk. [from 16th c.]
   • 1830, Robert Hayne, Speech in the United States Senate:

     And are we, Mr. President, who stood by our country then, who threw open our coffers, who bared our bosoms, who freely perilled all in that conflict, to be reproached with want of attachment to the Union?

   • 1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter XIV, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London, New York, N.Y., Melbourne, Vic.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC:

     "I will have nothing to do with this matter, whatever it is. Do you think I am going to peril my reputation for you?"

Anagrams

• piler, plier, prile

Middle English

Alternative forms

• perile, periil, perel, peryle, pereyl, parelle, peryl, perell, perill, parell, pereil

Etymology

From Old French peril, from Latin perīculum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛril/, /pɛˈriːl/, /ˈpɛrəl/, /ˈparəl/

Noun

peril (plural perilles)

1. Danger, risk, peril; something that is potentially harmful or risky:
   1. A location where danger, risk, or peril is present or likely.
   2. A thing or enterprise which creates peril; anything which creates or which is of peril.
   3. Sinfulness; religious threat or danger.
2. (Late Middle English) Bad fortune; unluckiness or mischance.

Related terms

• perilous
• perilously

Descendants

• English: peril
• Scots: peril

References

• “perī̆l, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-15.

Old French

Etymology

From Latin perīculum.

Noun

peril oblique singular, m (oblique plural periz or perilz, nominative singular periz or perilz, nominative plural peril)

1. peril; hazard; danger

Descendants

• → Middle English: peril
  • English: peril
  • Scots: peril
• French: péril
• Norman: péthi (Jersey)