Where does “perverse” come from?
Perverse comes from Old French pervers, meaning turned away or contrary.
perverse (English): Turned aside; hence, specifically, turned away...
Definitions
- Turned aside; hence, specifically, turned away...
Ancestry of “perverse”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | pervers | — |
| 2 | Latin | perversum | nominative neuter singular of perversus;... |
| 3 | Latin | pervertere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 4 | Latin | vertere | inflection of vertō: ## third-person plural... |
| 5 | Latin | verto | I turn, revolve; I turn around; I reverse |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | wertō | to turn |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |