PERILOUS

parlous, perilous, precarious, touch-and-go

(adjective) fraught with danger; “dangerous waters”; “a parlous journey on stormy seas”; “a perilous voyage across the Atlantic in a small boat”; “the precarious life of an undersea diver”; “dangerous surgery followed by a touch-and-go recovery”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

perilous (comparative more perilous, superlative most perilous)

Dangerous, full of peril.

Source: Wiktionary


Per"il*ous, a. Etym: [OF. perillous, perilleus, F. périlleux, L. periculosus. See Peril.] [Written also perillous.]

1. Full of, attended with, or involving, peril; dangerous; hazardous; as, a perilous undertaking. Infamous hills, and sandy, perilous wilds. Milton.

2. Daring; reckless; dangerous. [Obs.] Latimer. For I am perilous with knife in hand. Chaucer.

– Per"il*ous*ly, adv.

– Per"il*ous*ness, n.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 February 2025

BARGAIN

(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee has initially been a food – chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.

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