English
deperish
Deperish comes from Latin depereō ‘to die down, to perish gradually’, and goes back to eō ‘go’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeō1‘go’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpereō2‘to perish, pass away, die, be ruined’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdepereō3as deperīre‘to die down, to perish gradually’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400deperiss-3
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500deperishen3
- Englishearliest quotation 1978deperish3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin pereo
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin depereo
- 3 Wiktionary, English deperish
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1978, Patrick O'Brian, Chapter Six: “We shall pull him through this awkward pass; but…”.
Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeōWiktionary, Latin pereo‘go’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpereōWiktionary, Latin depereo‘to perish, pass away, die, be ruined’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdepereōWiktionary, English deperishas deperīre‘to die down, to perish gradually’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400deperiss-Wiktionary, English deperish
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500deperishenWiktionary, English deperish
- Englishearliest quotation 1978deperishWiktionary, English deperish. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1978, Patrick O'Brian, Chapter Six: “We shall pull him through this awkward pass; but…”
Linked words
through Latin eō ‘go’
issue, initial, transition, exit, ambitious, ambition, ambient, trance, obituary, transient, eyre, sedition, transitive, ambiance, transitory, seditious, ambit, obit, praetor, 23 more
Today it means
verb To waste away; to deteriorate.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “deperish”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin pereo, Latin depereo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin eō / deperish