Peril and Experience Come From the Same Root
Peril is serious and immediate danger. It shares an ancient root with experiment, expert and experience.
Peril is serious and immediate danger. It comes from Latin *periculum*, a trial or risk, built on a root meaning to try or to go through — the same root behind *experience*, *experiment* and *expert*. The connection is honest: to gain experience is to come through trials, and the ancient sense of testing carried real risk. *At your peril* warns that the risk is yours; *in peril of your life* is a formal way of saying the danger is fatal.
- Serious danger. *In grave peril.*
- Perilous — dangerous. *A perilous climb.*
- At your peril — the risk is yours. *Ignore it at your peril.*
- Imperil — to endanger. *Imperil the crew.*
- Latin — *periculum*, a trial. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | peril | Great peril. |
| Plural | perils | The perils. |
| Adjective | perilous | Perilous. |
| Verb | imperil | Imperil it. |
| Latin | periculum | A trial. |
- The ship was in peril.Danger.
- Ignore the warning at your peril.Idiom.
- A perilous descent in the dark.Adjective.
The family of trying and testing
- Peril — a trial with danger in it
- Experience — what you gain by going through trials
- Experiment — a deliberate trial
- Expert — one who has been through many trials
- Empirical — from a Greek cousin, based on trial and observation
Old French *peril*, from Latin *periculum*, a trial or danger, from a root meaning to try or risk.
Are peril and experience related?
Yes. Both come from a root meaning to try or go through; experience is what remains after the trials.
What does at your peril mean?
That you may act as you like, but any harm that follows is your own responsibility.