Etymograph

English

peritus

Peritus comes from Latin perītus ‘skillful’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperītus1‘skillful’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2013peritus1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English peritus
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Tracey Rowland, Pope Benedict XVI: God's Rottweiler or the Church's German s: “Among the leading periti at Vatican II, there was…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperītusWiktionary, English peritus‘skillful’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2013peritusWiktionary, English peritus. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Tracey Rowland, Pope Benedict XVI: God's Rottweiler or the Church's German s: “Among the leading periti at Vatican II, there was…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to provide, produce, beget’

part, empire, repair, preparation, para, parental, parcel, imperial, pare, imperium, imperious, 44 more

through Latin pariō ‘to bear, to give birth to’

parent, expertise, parity, 8 more

through Latin experior ‘try, test, experience’

expert, experiment, 2 more

Today it means

noun A Roman Catholic theologian attending an ecumenical council to give advice.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “peritus”. 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 perītus / peritus

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