A Dictionary of Cont..

perennial 364
denial or refusal (The peremptory nnture of the
demand angered the men but cowed them and
they sullenly complied). In legal terminology
peremptory means that which precludes or does
not admit of debate (a peremptory edict).
Prel?‘mptory, formed from pree’mpt and pre-
Zmption, is a much rarer word, referring to a
special privilege to buy land resulting from its
prior occupancy (Since he had squatted on the
land for five years, he claimed preEmptory
rights).
perennial, adjective, and perennially, adverb, mean
enduring, lasting for an indefinitely long time.
They do not mean recurring year after year (as
in You can perennially expect a cold spell in
May in these parts).
perfect; complete. That is complete which has all
its parts, is fully developed, or carried to its
fulfillment (The toy ship was complete to the
smallest detail. The plan has been a complete
failure). That is perfect which is not only complete
but is also of high quality and free from
defects or blemishes. A complete day, for example,
would be either twenty-four hours or the
full hours of daylight, depending on how the
word day was meant. A perfect day would be a
full day but also a delightful or successful one
or one that in some way had fulfilled the highest
expectations. It must have no blemishes. It must
be unqualified in its excellence. And it is this last
meaning that is conveyed in what seems a negative
use of the word, as a perfect fool or a perfect
stranger. Neither of these terms suggests excellence
in the person referred to, but the adjective
is not, strictly, applied to the person but to his
folly or his strangeness.
For the use of the comparative and superlative
forms of these words, see comparison of
adjectives and adverbs.
perfectly is better restricted, at least in formal
speech or writing, to its strict meaning of in a
perfect manner or degree. In its common use as
an intensive, to mean entirely or wholly or
merely (Us perfectly all right to go ahead. It’s
perfectly horrible of her to net this way), the
word is overworked. Usually it is a meaningless
filler and the sentences in which it occurs would
be more effective without it.
perfect tenses. Forms of the verb to have followed
by the past participle of a verb make what are
called the perfect tenses of that verb. For example,
the present tense form he has followed
by the past participle of speak, as in he has
spoken, makes a present perfect form of the verb
to speak; and the past tense he had makes the
past perfect he had spoken. All forms of the
verb can be given a perfect tense form. There is
a perfect participle having spoken and a perfect
infinitive to have spoken. These forms are called
“perfect” because they refer to an action that is
completed.
The forms have developed from the basic
meaning of hnve, which is to possess. From a
simple statement in which have is a full verb and
caught an adjective, such as I have a fish caught
0~ I have a caught fish, men came to use the
form I have caught a fish to express the subtle
notion of a present completed action. These are
the perfect tenses. They are present tense forms
if the present tense of have is used and past, if
the past.
For a long time these forms with have could
be used only with transitive verbs, that is, with
verbs that have an object. With certain other
verbs the same distinction, of completed action,
could be expressed by forms of the verb to be.
In some European languages to be is still used
in this way and was used in English with verbs
of motion until a few hundred years ago. These
constructions can still be heard, as in the hour
is come and he was recently returned from
abroad, but they are now archaic or affected.
For special problems in the use of perfect
tenses, see past tense, present tense, and intitives.
performance. See rendition.
perhaps. See possibly.
period. The period is used:
1. To indicate the end of any sentence, except
one requiring an exclamation point or a question
mark, as in He went to town yesterdny. But a
question which is actually a request can take a
period, as in Will you please return the book by
next weekend.
2. To indicate an ellipsis. See ellipsis.
3. For various typographical purposes:
a. It is used t-&indicate an abbreviation, as
in A.B.. Mr.. Mrs. But it is not used with nick-
I I
names, such as Al; or with letters representing
government agencies or some other organizations,
such as FHA, CIO, YMCA, or compound
terms, such as mph.
b. It is used to indicate a decimal point, as
in $12.35, 2.5 inches.
c. It is used after identifying numbers or
letters in a list, as in the numerals introducing
the items in this article. If the number is enclosed
in parentheses, the period is not necessary.
When a sentence ends with a quoted word or
phrase, the sentence period always comes inside
the quotation marks, as in He said he would
come “soon.”
perish. See die.
permission; consent; leave; permit. Permission describes
formal or express allowance or consent
(Since she was only twenty, she had to get her
parents’ permission to marry). Consent is a
fairly restricted term; it refers to a definite decision
to comply with an expressed request (Silence
gives consent). A permit is something in
writing, a written order granting leave to do
something, an authoritative or official certificate
of permission, a license (He had to get a building
permit from the city zoning commission).
Leave is restricted in modern American usage
largely to the specific meaning of permission to
be absent from duty (He was on leave from the
air base at the time) or the time such permission
lasts (He got the usual two weeks’ leave before
going overseas). It used, however, to be the most
general of all the terms implying license or liberty
granted to do something and is still under-