perish

To perish is to suffer death, ruin or destruction.

(verb)

When a person is murdered, this is an example of a situation in which the person is said to perish.

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See perish in Webster's New World College Dictionary

intransitive verb

  1. to be destroyed, ruined, or wiped out
  2. to die; esp., to die a violent or untimely death

Origin: ME perischen < extended stem of OFr perir < L perire, to go through, perish < per-, through (see per) + ire, to go: see year

See perish in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb per·ished, per·ish·ing, per·ish·es
verb, intransitive
  1. To die or be destroyed, especially in a violent or untimely manner: “Must then a Christ perish in torment in every age to save those who have no imagination?” (George Bernard Shaw).
  2. To pass from existence; disappear gradually: “Man will go down into the pit, and all his thoughts will perish” (A.J. Balfour).
  3. Chiefly British To spoil or deteriorate.
verb, transitive
To bring to destruction; destroy: “Many foul blights/Perish'd his hard won gains” (Thomas Hood).

Origin:

Origin: Middle English perishen

Origin: , from Old French perir, periss-, to perish

Origin: , from Latin perīre

Origin: : per-, per-

Origin: + īre, to go; see ei- in Indo-European roots

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