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perpetrate
6 dictionary results for: perpetrate
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
per·pe·trate       [pur-pi-treyt] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used with object), -trat·ed, -trat·ing.
1.to commit: to perpetrate a crime.
2.to present, execute, or do in a poor or tasteless manner: Who perpetrated this so-called comedy?
[Origin: 1540–50; < L perpetrātus (ptp. of perpetrāre to carry out, execute, perform), equiv. to per- per- + -petr- (comb. form of patrāre to father, bring about; see pater) + -ā- theme vowel + -tus ptp. suffix; see -ate1]

—Related forms
per·pe·tra·ble       [pur-pi-truh-buhl] Pronunciation Key, adjective
per·pe·tra·tion, noun
per·pe·tra·tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
per·pe·trate       (pûr'pĭ-trāt')  Pronunciation Key 
tr.v.   per·pe·trat·ed, per·pe·trat·ing, per·pe·trates
To be responsible for; commit: perpetrate a crime; perpetrate a practical joke.


[Latin perpetrāre, perpetrāt-, to accomplish : per-, per- + patrāre, to bring about (from pater, father; see pəter- in Indo-European roots).]

per'pe·tra'tion n., per'pe·tra'tor n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
perpetrate 
c.1450 (implied in perpetration), from L. perpetratus, pp. of perpetrare "to perform, to accomplish," from per- "completely" + patrare "carry out," originally "bring into existence," from pater "father" (see father). Neither good nor bad in L., first used in Eng. in statutes, hence its sense of "to perform criminally." Perpetrator is 1570, from L.L. perpetrator, from L. perpetrare. Police slang shortening perp (e.g. perp walk) is Amer.Eng., by 1940s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
perpetrate

verb
perform an act, usually with a negative connotation; "perpetrate a crime"; "pull a bank robbery" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: per·pe·trate
Pronunciation: 'p&r-p&-"trAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -trat·ed; -trat·ing
: to carry out or bring about (as a crime) —per·pe·tra·tion /"p&r-p&-'trA-sh&n/ noun —per·pe·tra·tor /'p&r-p&-"trA-t&r/ noun

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Perpetrate

Per"pe*trate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Perpetrated; p. pr. & vb. n. Perpetrating.] [L. perpetratus, p. p. of perpetrare to effect, perpetrare; per + patrare to perform.] To do or perform; to carry through; to execute, commonly in a bad sense; to commit (as a crime, an offense); to be guilty of; as, to perpetrate a foul deed.

What the worst perpetrate, or best endure. --Young.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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