peril meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

peril

noun

/ˈpɛɹɪl/ · /ˈpɛɹəl/

Etymology From Middle English peril, from Old French peril, from Latin perīculum. Doublet of periculum.

A situation of serious and immediate danger.

Something that causes, contains, or presents danger.

Business, Insurance An event which causes a loss, or the risk of a specific such event.

Synonyms: danger, hazard, jeopardy, risk, threat
Derived terms: at one's peril, green peril, imperil, multiperil, perilless, peril point, perilsome, yellow peril
Related terms: imperil, perilous

verb

Etymology From Middle English peril, from Old French peril, from Latin perīculum. Doublet of periculum.

To cause to be in danger; to imperil; to risk.

And are we, Mr. President, who stood by our country then, who threw open our coffers, who bared our bosoms, who freely perilled all in that conflict, to be reproached with want of attachment to the Union?1830, Robert Hayne, Speech in the United States Senate
Remember how much she had perilled for a fine house and gorgeous furniture, for carriages and horses, jewels and laces; and do not wonder if she clings with a desperate tenacity to gauds and gew-gaws, in the hour of her despair.1862, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret:

1 more example

"I will have nothing to do with this matter, whatever it is. Do you think I am going to peril my reputation for you?"1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter XIV, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC: