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Origin and history of perjury

perjury(n.)

late 14c., perjurie, in law, "the act of swearing to a statement known to be false, willful utterance of false testimony under oath," via Anglo-French perjurie (late 13c.) and Old French parjure "perjury, false witness," both from Latin periurium "a false oath," from periurare "swear falsely," from per "away, entirely" (see per) + iurare "to swear" (see jury (n.)). Related: Perjurious.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to perjury

jury(n.)

"set number of persons, selected according to law and sworn to determine the facts and truth of a case or charge submitted to them and render a verdict," early 14c. (late 12c. in Anglo-Latin), from Anglo-French and Old French juree (13c.), from Medieval Latin iurata "an oath, a judicial inquest, sworn body of men," noun use of fem. past participle of Latin iurare "to swear," from ius (genitive iuris) "law, an oath" (see jurist).

Meaning "body of persons chosen to award prizes at an exhibition" is from 1851. Grand jury attested from early 15c. in Anglo-French (le graund Jurre), literally "large," so called with reference to the number of its members (usually 12 to 23). Jury-box is from 1729; juryman from 1570s. Figurative phrase jury is still out "no decision has been made" is by 1903.

per(prep.)

"through, by means of," 1580s (earlier in various Latin and French phrases, in the latter often par), from Latin per "through, during, by means of, on account of, as in," from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "through, in front of, before, first, chief, toward, near, around, against."

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suborn
"to procure unlawfully, to bribe to accomplish a wicked purpose," especially to induce a witness to perjury, "to lure (someone...
affirmation
alternative to oath-taking (Quakers, Moravians, etc.), it is attested from 1690s; if false, it incurs the same penalty as perjury...
infraction
mid-15c., "the breaking of an agreement," from Old French infraction (13c.) and directly from Latin infractionem (nominative infractio) "a breaking, weakening," noun of action from past participle stem of infringere "to damage, break off, break, bruise," from in- "in" (from PIE r
misdemeanor
also misdemeanour, late 15c., "ill-behavior, evil conduct, fault," but almost always used in the legal sense of "an indictable offense of less grave nature than a felony;" from mis- (1) "wrong" + Middle English demenure "conduct, management" (see demeanor). Related: Misdemeanors;
false
late Old English, "intentionally untrue, lying," of religion, "not of the true faith, not in accord with Christian doctrines," from Old French fals, faus "false, fake; incorrect, mistaken; treacherous, deceitful" (12c., Modern French faux), from Latin falsus "deceptive, feigned,
under
Old English under (prep.) "beneath, among, before, in the presence of, in subjection to, under the rule of, by means of," also, as an adverb, "beneath, below, underneath," expressing position with reference to that which is above, from Proto-Germanic *under- (source also of Old F
oath
Middle English oth, from Old English að "judicial swearing, solemn appeal (to deity, sacred relics, etc.), in witness of truth or a promise," from Proto-Germanic *aithaz (source also of Old Norse eiðr, Swedish ed, Old Saxon, Old Frisian eth, Middle Dutch eet, Dutch eed, German ei
congruent
early 15c., "suitable, proper, harmoniously joined or related," from Latin congruentem (nominative congruens) "agreeing, fit, suitable," present participle of congruere "agree, correspond with," literally "to come together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-
belief
late 12c., bileave, "confidence reposed in a person or thing; faith in a religion," replacing Old English geleafa "belief, faith," from West Germanic *ga-laubon "to hold dear, esteem, trust" (source also of Old Saxon gilobo, Middle Dutch gelove, Old High German giloubo, German Gl
quell
Middle English quellen "to kill" (a person or animal), from Old English cwellan "to kill, cause to die; murder, execute," from Proto-Germanic *kwaljanan (source also of Old English cwelan "to die," cwalu "violent death;" Old Saxon quellian "to torture, kill;" Old Norse kvelja "to

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