Etymologically
Log in

perverse

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 15:24. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Forms

perversē (adverb)[1] Also spelled pervorsē.[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin perversus (“turned the wrong way, perverse”) + -ē.[1] The adjective is the participle of pervertō (“to overturn”),[1] a compound of per- (“thoroughly”) and vertō (“to turn”).[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest example is from Ennius' tragedies: haec tu etsi perverse dices, facile Achivos flexeris, “even if you say this wrongly, you will easily sway the Achaeans”.[1]

Semantic evolution

Plautus uses it of wrong judgement and also as a colloquial intensive, “wildly”, as in erras perverse, “you are wildly mistaken”.[1] Cicero applies it to misusing the gods' kindness and to cunning that falsely imitates prudence, and in the sense “unreasonably, perversely”.[1] In its literal sense, “back to front”, Mela says that the Egyptians use their letters that way, and Suetonius has a curule chair set the wrong way round.[1]

In medieval British Latin it often implies wickedness: Bede speaks of corrupting Christ's words by living or interpreting perversely.[4]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of speaking wrongly.[1][5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it as an intensive, “wildly”.[1][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of acting unreasonably.[1][5]
  • 43/44 AD – Mela uses it of writing back to front.[1][5]
  • 1st third of 8th century AD – Bede uses it of perverse living and interpretation.[4][5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. The wrong way round, back to front.[1]
  2. Wrongly, mistakenly;[1][2] wrong-headedly, perversely, unreasonably.[1][4]
  3. (colloquial) As an intensive, wildly, “like mad”.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de