perjure

views updated May 23 2018

perjure pass. be p—d be forsworn or guilty of false swearing XV (now rare), repr. AN., OF. estre parjuré(z); refl. p. oneself XVIII, repr. F. se parjurer forswear oneself, for which the intr. perjure was formerly used XVII–XVIII (so in AN.). — (O)F. parjurer, †per- — L. perjūrāre, refash. of pe(r)ierāre break one's oath. f. PER-3 + jūrāre swear.
So perjury (-Y3) XIV. — AN. perjurie (modF. parjure) — L. perjūrium.

perjure

views updated May 11 2018

per·jure / ˈpərjər/ • v. (perjure oneself) Law willfully tell an untruth when giving evidence to a court; commit perjury.DERIVATIVES: per·jur·er n.

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