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Definition of perish - 6 dictionary results

per⋅ish

  [per-ish]
Use perish in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to die or be destroyed through violence, privation, etc.: to perish in an earthquake.
2. to pass away or disappear: an age of elegance that has forever perished.
3. to suffer destruction or ruin: His valuable paintings perished in the fire.
4. to suffer spiritual death: Save us, lest we perish.
—Idiom
5. perish the thought, may it never happen: used facetiously or as an afterthought of foreboding.
Origin:
1200–50; ME perissen < OF periss-, long s. of perir < L perīre to perish, lit., go through, spend fully, equiv. to per- per- + īre to go

Related forms:
per⋅ish⋅less, adjective
per⋅ish⋅ment, noun

Synonyms:
1. expire. See die 1 . 2. wither, shrivel, rot, molder, vanish.

Antonyms:
2. appear.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To perish
per·ish   (pěr'ĭsh)   
v.   per·ished, per·ish·ing, per·ish·es

v.   intr.
  1. To die or be destroyed, especially in a violent or untimely manner: "Must then a Christ perish in torment in every age to save those who have no imagination?" (George Bernard Shaw).
  2. To pass from existence; disappear gradually: "Man will go down into the pit, and all his thoughts will perish" (A.J. Balfour).
  3. Chiefly British To spoil or deteriorate.
v.   tr.
To bring to destruction; destroy: "Many foul blights/Perish'd his hard won gains" (Thomas Hood).

[Middle English perishen, from Old French perir, periss-, to perish, from Latin perīre : per-, per- + īre, to go; see ei- 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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Perish

Per"ish\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Perished; p. pr. & vb. n. Perishing.] [OE. perissen, perisshen, F. p['e]rir, p. pr. p['e]rissant, L. perire to go or run through, come to nothing, perish; per through + ire to go. Cf. Issue, and see -ish.] To be destroyed; to pass away; to become nothing; to be lost; to die; hence, to wither; to waste away.

I perish with hunger! --Luke xv. 17.

Grow up and perish, as the summer fly. --Milton.

The thoughts of a soul that perish in thinking. --Locke.

Perish

Per"ish\, v. t. To cause perish. [Obs.] --Bacon.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : perish
Spanish: perecer, fallecer,
German: umkommen,
Japanese: 死ぬ
More Translations »

perish 
c.1250, from periss- prp. stem of O.Fr. perir, from L. perire "to be lost, perish," lit. "to go through," from per- "through, completely, to destruction" + ire "to go." Perishables in ref. to foodstuffs is attested from 1895.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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perish

In addition to the idiom beginning with perish, also see publish or perish.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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