perfidy

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /ˈpɝfədi/ UK /ˈpɜːfɪdi/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
deceitfulness; treachery or breach of faith

His perfidy was revealed when he betrayed his closest ally.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · deceitfulness; treachery or... treachery betrayal disloyalty faithlessness duplicity deceit treason

Opposites

loyalty fidelity faithfulness allegiance

Word family

Derived forms perfidious perfidiousness

Related forms perfidious fidelity

Simplified etymology

Perfidy entered English in the late 16th century through French from Latin perfidia “treachery.” This came from perfidus “treacherous,” based on per- in the sense “to ill effect” and fides “faith.”

Etymology

From Latin perfidia ('faithlessness, treachery'), from perfidus ('faithless'), from per- ('through, contrary to') + fides ('faith').

perfidia Latin perfidus Latin fides Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# perfidy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɝfədi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɜːfɪdi/

## Meanings
1. deceitfulness; treachery or breach of faith

## Examples
- His perfidy was revealed when he betrayed his closest ally.

## Synonyms
- treachery
- betrayal
- disloyalty
- faithlessness
- duplicity
- deceit
- treason

## Antonyms
- loyalty
- fidelity
- faithfulness
- allegiance

## Derived Forms
- perfidious
- perfidiousness

## Related Forms
- perfidious
- fidelity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: perfidia
- Root: perfidus
- Root: fides

## Etymology
From Latin perfidia ('faithlessness, treachery'), from perfidus ('faithless'), from per- ('through, contrary to') + fides ('faith').

## AI Etymology
Perfidy is from Latin perfidia ('faithlessness, treachery'), from perfidus ('faithless'), from per- ('through, contrary to') + fides ('faith'). Important recorded forms include perfidia (Latin), perfidus (Latin), and fides (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers deceitfulness; treachery or breach of faith. The wider family includes derived forms such as perfidious and perfidiousness and related words such as perfidious and fidelity.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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