perjurer
UK[ˈpɜːdʒərə(r)]US[ˈpɜːrdʒərər]
n
A person who commits perjury; someone who lies while under oath in a court of law.
Morpheme Breakdown
perjur
er
perjur
to commit perjury.
er
Etymology
The word 'perjurer' has a direct lineage from Latin legal terminology. It originates from the Latin verb perjurare, meaning 'to swear falsely,' which itself is a compound of per- (here used in a destructive sense, 'to ill effect') and jurare ('to swear'). This verb was adopted into Anglo-Norman and later Middle English as 'perjuren.' The agent noun suffix '-er,' of Germanic origin, was then appended to create 'perjurer,' literally designating 'one who swears destructively or falsely.' The term's evolution perfectly encapsulates the legal and moral gravity of the act, transforming the abstract concept of violating an oath into a concrete label for the person who commits it.
Analysis
Structure: perjur + er
- perjur: From Latin perjurare (to swear falsely), combining per- (to ill effect, destructively) and jurare (to swear). In this word, it functions as the verb stem meaning "to commit perjury."
- er: From Old English -ere, an agent noun suffix indicating "a person who does or performs (the action of the verb)."
Examples
The witness was exposed as a perjurer during cross-examination.
Convicted of lying under oath, he was labeled a perjurer and faced additional charges.
The lawyer's strategy hinged on proving the key testimony came from a known perjurer.