perjury - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

per·ju·ry

Audio Help [pur-juh-ree] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -ries. Law.

the willful giving of false testimony under oath or affirmation, before a competent tribunal, upon a point material to a legal inquiry.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME perjurie < AF < L perjūrium, equiv. to perjūr(us) swearing falsely (see perjure) + -ium -ium; r. parjure < OF < L as above

]

—Related forms

per·ju·ri·ous

Audio Help [per-joor-ee-uh

s] Pronunciation Key, adjective

per·ju·ri·ous·ly, adverb

per·ju·ri·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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perjury

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

per·ju·ry Audio Help (pûr'jə-rē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. per·ju·ries

Law The deliberate, willful giving of false, misleading, or incomplete testimony under oath.
The breach of an oath or promise.

[Middle English periurie, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin periūrium, from periūrāre, to perjure; see perjure.]

per·ju'ri·ous (pər-jŏŏr'ē-əs) adj., per·ju'ri·ous·ly adv.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
perjury

1387, "act of swearing to a statement known to be false," via Anglo-Fr. parjurie (1292) and O.Fr. parjurie, both from L. perjurium "false oath," from perjurare "swear falsely," from per- "away, entirely" + jurare "to swear" (see jury (n.)). The verb perjure is attested from 1453 (implied in perjured).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

perjury
noun
criminal offense of making false statements under oath

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Perjury

Per"ju*ry\, n.; pl. Perjuries. [L. perjurium. See Perjure, v.]

1. False swearing.

2. (Law) At common law, a willfully false statement in a fact material to the issue, made by a witness under oath in a competent judicial proceeding. By statute the penalties of perjury are imposed on the making of willfully false affirmations.

Note: If a man swear falsely in nonjudicial affidavits, it is made perjury by statute in some jurisdictions in the United States.

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