Today's Word

Perfidious

per-FID-ee-uhs

Definition

(adjective) Deceitful and untrustworthy; deliberately disloyal.

Example

His perfidious actions during the negotiation shocked even his rivals.

Word Origin

Late Middle English: from Old French perfidieux, from Latin perfidiosus, from perfidia ‘treachery’, based on per- ‘through’ + fides ‘faith’.

Fun Fact

Perfidious isn’t your average insult. It suggests a deep and knowing betrayal, often by someone who pretended to be loyal. Historically, it was used in diplomacy and politics—perfidious Albion was a nickname used by the French to accuse Britain of double-dealing. It shows up in literature, courtroom speeches, and bitter breakups. This isn’t just someone who disappointed you—it’s someone who knew exactly what they were doing.

Previous Words

Veracity

Today's Word

Veracity

veh-RAS-ih-tee

Definition

(noun) The quality of being truthful, accurate, and habitually disposed toward honesty in all matters.

Example

The journalist’s veracity was never questioned — not because she never made mistakes, but because she corrected them faster than anyone else in the room.

Word Origin

Veracity derives from the Medieval Latin veracitas, meaning “truthfulness,” from verax — “speaking the truth” — rooted in verus, meaning “true.” The same root gives us verify, verdict, verity, and aver — a family of words all built around truth as something that can be confirmed and declared. It entered English in the 17th century, used to describe not a single truthful act but a consistent, habitual disposition toward accuracy — the difference between telling the truth once and being someone who simply cannot do otherwise.

Fun Fact

The philosophical distinction between truth and veracity has occupied thinkers since antiquity — and the gap between them is larger than it first appears. A person can tell the truth accidentally, or strategically, or selectively. Veracity implies something more demanding: a character trait so ingrained that deception becomes structurally difficult. Kant argued that veracity was an absolute moral duty — that lying was wrong even to protect someone from harm — a position so extreme that philosophers have been arguing against it ever since. The most famous counterexample remains the murderer at the door asking where your friend is hiding, which has kept ethics seminars occupied for two centuries without producing a consensus.

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Perfidious

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Veracity

Veracity

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Veracity

Inchoate

Abate

Pugnacious

Vociferous