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Definition of perfidy - 4 dictionary results

per⋅fi⋅dy

  [pur-fi-dee]
Use perfidy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -dies.
1. deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery: perfidy that goes unpunished.
2. an act or instance of faithlessness or treachery.
Origin:
1585–95; < L perfidia faithlessness, equiv. to perfid(us) faithless, lit., through (i.e., beyond the limits of) faith (per- per- + fid(ēs) faith + -us adj. suffix) + -ia -y 3

Synonyms:
See disloyalty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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per·fi·dy   (pûr'fĭ-dē)   
n.   pl. per·fi·dies
  1. Deliberate breach of faith; calculated violation of trust; treachery: "the fink, whose perfidy was equaled only by his gall" (Gilbert Millstein).
  2. The act or an instance of treachery.

[Latin perfidia, from perfidus, treacherous : per-, to destruction; see per- + fidēs, faith; see bheidh- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Perfidy

Per"fi*dy\ (p[~e]r"f[i^]*d[y^]), n.; pl. Perfidies (-d[i^]z). [L. perfidia, fr. L. perfidus faithless; per (cf. Skr. par[=a] away) + fides faith: cf. F. perfidie. See Faith.] The act of violating faith or allegiance; violation of a promise or vow, or of trust reposed; faithlessness; treachery.

The ambition and perfidy of tyrants. --Macaulay.

His perfidy to this sacred engagement. --DeQuincey.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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perfidy 
1592, from M.Fr. perfidie, from L. perfidia "falsehood, treachery," from perfidus "faithless," from phrase per fidem decipere "to deceive through trustingness," from per "through" (see per) + fidem, acc. of fides "faith" (see faith). The adj. perfidious is attested from 1598.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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