pervert

/ˈpɜːvət/PUR-vurt

/ˈpɝvɚt/PUR-vurt

Meaningto overturn, ruin, corrupt

Common meaning: to corrupt

perthrough; thoroughlySkeat, Concise Etymological Dictionary (1911), p. 386 · scan
vertto turnLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1977 · scan

‘through’ + ‘to turn’ → pervert

Journey through time

per — Latin per- “through; thoroughly” (path traced)
vert — Latin vertō, vertī, versum “to turn” (path traced)

Parts join in Latin as pervertere.

Latinper- + uertere‘through; thoroughly + to turn’source
Latinpervertere‘to overturn, ruin, corrupt’source
Frenchpervertirsource
Middle Englishpervertensource
Englishpervert‘to corrupt’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin pervertere, which Skeat (Concise Dictionary, 1911) analyses as per- ‘through; thoroughly’ + uertere ‘to turn’.

Roots

pervertere Latin “to overturn, ruin, corrupt”
vertō, vertī, versum Latin “to turn”

Related words

anniversary converse divert irreversible irreversibly noncontroversial prose subversion traverse universe

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