LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

perītus

perītus (feminine perīta, neuter perītum, comparative perītior, superlative perītissimus, adverb perītē)
Classical[pɛˈriː.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[peˈriː.tus]

Meaning

  1. adjectiveskillful, skilled, expert, experienced, practised (+ genitive or in + ablative or ad + accusative)
  2. adjectiveclever, skilfully constructed

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

doctus ūsū
perītus -a -um — in Epistulae, ch. 19

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeperītusperītaperītum
genitiveperītīperītaeperītī
dativeperītōperītaeperītō
accusativeperītumperītamperītum
ablativeperītōperītāperītō
vocativeperīteperītaperītum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeperītīperītaeperīta
genitiveperītōrumperītārumperītōrum
dativeperītīsperītīsperītīs
accusativeperītōsperītāsperīta
ablativeperītīsperītīsperītīs
vocativeperītīperītaeperīta

pĕrītus, a, um, adj. prop. Part. of perior (in ex-perior); root par-, per-; Gr. περάω; v. periculum,
I. experienced, practised, practically acquainted, skilled, skilful, expert (cf.: gnarus, consultus).
I. Lit.
(a). Absol.: nil iam mihi novi Offerri pote, quin sim peritus, Plaut. Pers. 2, 3, 19: doctos homines vel usu peritos, Cic. Off. 1, 41, 147: docti a peritis, id. ib. 3, 3, 15: ab hominibus callidis ac peritis animadversa, id. de Or. 1, 23, 109: decede peritis, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 213: me peritus discet Iber, id. C. 2, 20, 19: homo peritissimus, Cic. de Or. 1, 15, 66: hominem peritissimum in eis ipsis rebus, superare, quas, etc., id. ib. 1, 15, 66: peritissimi duces, Caes. B. C. 3, 73; Prop. 1, 10, 7. —
(b). With gen.: multarum rerum peritus, Cic. Font. 7, 15: antiquitatis nostrae et scriptorum veterum litterate peritus, id. Brut. 56, 205: earum regionum, Caes. B. C. 1, 48: caelestium prodigiorum, Liv. 1, 34: peritiores rei militaris, id. 3, 61: bellorum omnium peritissimus, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 23, 68: peritissimi caeli ac siderum vates, Curt. 4, 10, 4: juris, Juv. 1, 128: vir movendarum lacrimarum peritissimus, Plin. Ep. 2, 11, 3: definiendi, Cic. Off. 3, 14, 60.—
(g). With abl.: jure peritus, Lucil. ap. Charis. p. 62 P.: jure peritissimus, Aur. Vict. Epit. 19: quis jure peritior? Cic. Clu. 38, 107: peritus bello, Vell. 2, 29, 3: peritus disciplinā militari, Gell. 4, 8, 2: arte fabricā peritus, Dig. 33, 7, 19.—
(d). With ad: ad usum et disciplinam peritus, Cic. Font. 15, 43: et ad respondendum et ad cavendum peritus, id. de Or. 1, 48, 212: ad prospicienda cavendaque pericula, Just. 31, 2, 2.—(ε) With in and abl.: sive in amore rudis, sive peritus erit, Prop. 2, 34 (3, 32), 82.—(ζ) With de: de agriculturā peritissimus, Varr. R. R. 1, 2, 10.—(η) With acc. (poet.): arma virumque peritus, Aus. Epigr. 137.—(θ) With inf. or object-clause (poet. and in post-Aug. prose): soli cantare periti Arcades, Verg. E. 10, 32: peritus obsequi, Tac. Agr. 8: urentes oculos inhibere perita, Pers. 2, 34: rex peritus, fortius adversus Romanos aurum esse quam ferrum, Flor. 3, 1, 7.—Hence, subst.: pĕrītissĭ-mus, i, m., a man of extraordinary skill: cum discendi causā duobus peritissimis operam dedisset, etc., Cic. Brut. 42, 154.—
II. Transf., of abstract things, skilfully constructed, clever: peritae fabulae, Aus. Ep. 16, 92.—Hence, adv.: pĕrītē, in an experienced manner, skilfully, expertly, cleverly: quod institutum perite a Numa, Cic. Leg. 2, 12, 29: perite et ornate dicere, id. de Or. 2, 2, 5; Gell. 17, 5 fin.: callide et perite versari in aliquā re, Cic. de Or. 1, 11, 48: distributa perite, id. ib. 2, 19, 81.— Comp.: peritius fit aliquid ab aliquo, Sen. Ep. 90, 33.—Sup.: aliquid peritissime et callidissime venditare, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 54, § 135: disputare, Val. Max. 8, 11, 1: suavissime et peritissime legere, Plin. Ep. 3, 15, 3.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *perh₃-der. Latin *perior Proto-Indo-European *-tósder. Latin -ītus ? Latin peritus Uncertain. Perhaps the perfect active participle of an unattested fourth conjugation verb *perior, a root found in experior (“try, test, experience”). De Vaan connects the word to pariō (“to prepare”), from Proto-Indo-European *perh₃-. Compare perīculum.

Descendants
  • Catalanperit
  • Catalanpèrit
  • Englishperite
  • Spanishperito
  • Italianperito
  • Portugueseperito
  • Asturianpéritu
  • Galicianperito
  • Piedmonteseperì
  • Sicilianpiritu

Quick answers

What does perītus mean in Latin?
perītus, a adjective, means “skillful, skilled, expert, experienced, practised (+ genitive or in + ablative or ad + accusative); clever, skilfully constructed”.
How do you pronounce perītus?
In classical Latin, [pɛˈriː.tʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [peˈriː.tus].