Etymograph

English

peril

Peril comes from Latin perīculum ‘risk, hazard, danger, peril’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *per-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*per-ei-klom2uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperīculum1‘risk, hazard, danger, peril’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400peril1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500peril1‘a location where danger, risk, or peril is present or likely’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1830peril1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English peril
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin periculum
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1830, Robert Hayne: “And are we, Mr. President, who stood by our…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, English perilroot named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*per-ei-klomWiktionary, Latin periculumuncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperīculumWiktionary, English peril‘risk, hazard, danger, peril’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400perilWiktionary, English peril
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500perilWiktionary, English peril‘a location where danger, risk, or peril is present or likely’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1830perilWiktionary, English peril. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1830, Robert Hayne: “And are we, Mr. President, who stood by our…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per-

first, before, support, far, report, press, further, practice, fear, opportunity, private, pre, price, appreciate, port, per, primary, afford, pregnant, prior, prime, ford, practical, forth, precious, praise, prize, parade, par, interpretation, pirate, fare, porch, pardon, privilege, ferry, primitive, pragmatic, proton, prix, 156 more

through Latin perīculum ‘risk, hazard, danger, peril’

meticulous, 6 more

Today it means

noun A situation of serious and immediate danger.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “peril”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin periculum. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *per- / peril

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