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perfidy

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per⋅fi⋅dy

  [pur-fi-dee]
–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.
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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. 2010.
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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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Word Origin & History

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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