perish

views updated

per·ish / ˈperish/ • v. [intr.] suffer death, typically in a violent, sudden, or untimely way: a great part of his army perished of hunger and disease. ∎  suffer complete ruin or destruction: the old regime had to perish. ∎  (of rubber, a foodstuff, or other organic substance) lose its normal qualities; rot or decay: most domestic building was in wood and has perished.PHRASES: perish the thought inf. used, often ironically, to show that one finds a suggestion or idea completely ridiculous or unwelcome: he wasn't out to get drunk—perish the thought!ORIGIN: Middle English: from Old French periss-, lengthened stem of perir, from Latin perire ‘pass away,’ from per- ‘through, completely’ + ire ‘go.’

More From encyclopedia.com