perfidy
UK /ˈpɜː.fɪ.di/ · US /ˈpɝ.fɪ.di/ noun
Forms perfidies
- noun A state or act of violating faith or allegiance; violation of a promise or vow, or of trust.
- noun (international law, in warfare) An illegitimate act of deception, such as using symbols like the Red Cross or white flag in a false claim of surrender to gain proximity to an enemy for purposes of attack.
- noun A state or act of deceit.
Synonyms
betrayal treachery perfidiousness breach of promise breach of trust double-dealing Judas kiss prodition Punic faith stab in the back swike tergiversation traitory treacherousness treason underhandedness trickery deceit deceitfulness deceptiveness
Etymology
From Middle French perfidie, from Latin perfidia from perfidus (“faithless, treacherous, false”), from fides (“faith”); related to, for example, English fidelity.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of violating faith or allegiance; violation of a promise or vow, or of trust reposed; faithlessness; teachery.
Etymology [L. perfidia, fr. L. perfidus faithless; per (cf. Skr. para away) + fides faith: cf. F. perfidie. See Faith.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “perfidy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details