περί

See also: περι-, περί-, and πέρι

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• πέρι (péri) – initial-stressed form
• περ᾽ (per᾽) – apocope: elision
• περ (per) – Thessalian, Delphic
• παρ (par) – Elean

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *peri. Cognates include Sanskrit परि (pári), Latin per, Lithuanian per, English for, and Albanian për.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pe.rí/ → /peˈri/ → /peˈri/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pe.rí/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /peˈri/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /peˈri/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /peˈri/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /peˈri/

Preposition

περῐ́ • (perí) (governs the genitive, dative, and accusative)

1. (+ genitive)
   1. about, concerning, because of
2. (+ dative)
   1. around, for, about
3. (+ accusative)
   1. around (both in the circular sense and close proximity sense), near, about

Derived terms

• περίζωμα (perízōma)
• περισσός (perissós)

Descendants

• Greek: περί (perí)
• → Dutch: peri-
• → English: peri-
• → Finnish: peri-
• → French: péri-
• → Italian: peri-
• → Spanish: peri-

References

• “περί”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “περί”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “περί”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• περί in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• περί in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “περί”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G4012 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• περί in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • about idem, page 2.
  • allude to idem, page 25.
  • allusion idem, page 25.
  • around idem, page 40.
  • busily idem, page 106.
  • busy idem, page 106.
  • coil idem, page 142.
  • concerning idem, page 155.
  • endanger idem, page 272.
  • engage idem, page 274.
  • fear idem, page 312.
  • for idem, page 334.
  • hazard idem, page 389.
  • imperil idem, page 420.
  • jeopardise idem, page 462.
  • kick idem, page 468.
  • mention idem, page 524.
  • near idem, page 553.
  • nearly idem, page 553.
  • negotiate idem, page 555.
  • occupy idem, page 568.
  • of idem, page 569.
  • over idem, page 584.
  • pore over idem, page 627.
  • record idem, page 681.
  • reform idem, page 685.
  • respect idem, page 703.
  • respecting idem, page 703.
  • revolutionise idem, page 711.
  • risk idem, page 717.
  • round idem, page 722.
  • stake idem, page 809.
  • study idem, page 829.
  • towards idem, page 884.
  • venture idem, page 947.
  • wind idem, page 980.
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek περί (perí).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peˈɾi/

Preposition

περί • (perí)

1. (mathematics) about, approximately

   περί τις πεντακόσιες δραχμές

   perí tis pentakósies drachmés

   about five hundred drachmas

2. about, concerning

   Δεν ήξερα περί τίνος πρόκειται.

   Den íxera perí tínos prókeitai.

   I didn't know what it was about.

Usage notes

• In the second sense, the noun following this preposition always uses the genitive case.

Synonyms

• (approximately): περίπου (perípou)
• (concerning): για (gia)

Further reading

• περί - Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], 1998, by the "Triantafyllidis" Foundation.