pernicity

English

Etymology

pernic(ious) +‎ -ity, from Latin pernicitas. See pernicious.

Noun

pernicity (uncountable)

1. (archaic) swiftness; celerity
   • 1691, John Ray, The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation. […], London: […] Samuel Smith, […], →OCLC:

     the rest that have no such armature, should be endued with great swiftness or pernicity

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “pernicity”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)