pert

See also PERT

English

Etymology

Aphetic form of apert.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)t

  Rhymes (US, Virginia, Appalachian): -ɪə(r)t

Adjective

pert (comparative perter, superlative pertest)

1. Attractive (of a person); well-formed, shapely (of a part of the body). [from 14th c.]
2. Lively; alert and cheerful; bright. [from 16th c.]
3. (now rare) Cheeky, impertinent (especially of children or social inferiors). [from 15th c.]
   • 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, p. 333:

     "You'll not be so pert when the Cornish seize you. They spit children like you and roast them on bonfires."

4. (obsolete) Open; evident; unhidden. [14th-17th c.]

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:cheeky

Derived terms

• pertly
• pertness

Translations

open; evident; apert

• French: ouvert (fr) m, évident (fr) m

• Italian: aperto (it) m

lively; brisk; sprightly; smart

• French: animé (fr) m
• Italian: vivace (it) m and f

• Russian: бодрый (ru) (bodryj)

indecorously free, or presuming; saucy; bold; impertinent

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 无礼的 (cmn) (wúlǐ), (traditional) 無禮 (cmn)

• French: impertinent (fr) m
• Russian: дерзкий, наглый, нахальный

Verb

pert (third-person singular simple present perts, present participle perting, simple past and past participle perted)

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To behave with pertness.

Anagrams

• terp, TERP