perish
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɛɹɪʃ/
homophone: parish (Mary–marry–merry merger)
rhymes: -ɛɹɪʃ
Forms: form: perishes
form: perishing
form: perished
form: perished
Etymology: From Middle English perishen, borrowed from Old French perir (via the stem periss- used in various conjugations), from Latin perīre (“pass away, perish”), from per (“through”) + īre (“pass, go”).
Senses: examples: 1881, Tarafa, translated by W. A. Clouston, The Poem of Tarafa
I consider time as a treasure decreasing every night; and that which every day diminishes soon perishes for ever.
glosses: To decay and disappear; to waste away to nothing.
examples: text: The difficulty is that fresh foods perish due to the multiplication in them of harmful bacteria.
ref: 2015, Christopher Cumo, Foods that Changed History:
glosses: To decay in such a way that it cannot be used for its original purpose
examples: text: When it goeth well with the righteous, the citie reioyceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 11:10:
text: […]the ship struck upon a sand, and […] the sea broke over her in such a manner that we expected we should all have perished immediately; and we were immediately driven into our close quarters, to shelter us from the very foam and spray of the sea.
ref: 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC:
synonyms: word: decease
word: pass away
word: assume room temperature
word: auger in
word: be called home
word: be gathered to one's fathers
word: be no more
word: be with Jesus
word: be with the Lord
word: bite the big one
word: bite the biscuit
word: bite the dust
word: buy the farm
word: buy it
word: cark it
word: cash in
word: cash in one's chips
word: check out
word: close one's eyes for the last time
word: code
word: conk out
word: croak
word: cross over
word: cross rainbow bridge
word: cross the Great Divide
word: cross the Styx
word: decease
word: decompose
word: dematerialize
word: depart
word: disincarnate
word: draw one's last breath
word: drop off the hooks
word: exit
word: expire
word: flatline
word: forfare
word: get to be like the one
word: give one's all
word: give up the ghost
word: go for a burton
word: go gentle into that good night
word: go out
word: go over to the majority
word: go the way of all flesh
word: go the way of the dinosaurs
word: go the way of the dodo
word: go the way of the dodo bird
word: go to glory
word: go to one's reward
word: go west
word: hand in one's checks
word: hand in one's dinner pail
word: hop the twig
word: join the choir invisible
word: keel over
word: kick the bucket
word: kick off
word: knock off
word: liquidate
word: lose my life for Jesus Christ
word: lose the number of one's mess
word: meet one's doom
word: meet one's end
word: meet one's maker
word: pass
word: pass away
word: pass in one's checks
word: pass in one's marble
word: pass on
word: pass over
word: pass the river
word: pay nature's debt
word: pay the debt of nature
word: peg out
word: perish
word: pop off
word: pop one's clogs
word: shuffle off this mortal coil
word: sink
word: sleep with one's fathers
word: slip away
word: snuff it
word: succumb
word: take a dirt nap
word: turn up one's toes
word: yield up the ghost
glosses: To die; to cease to live.
examples: text: that closeness did impair and a little perish his understanding
ref: 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Friendship”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
text: "Leggo my shou'der, I tell you! Leggo!" He struggled with her, and the customers came forward. "Chrise! I'll perish you, if you ain't careful!" He turned suddenly,...
ref: 1898, William Pett Ridge, By Order of the Magistrate, page 209:
glosses: To cause to perish.
Derived terms: do a perish
nonperishing
perishability
perisher
perishingly
perishless
perish the thought
publish or perish
unperished
unperishing
Related terms: perishable