perfection

English

Etymology

From Middle English perfeccioun, from Old French perfection, from Latin perfectiō. Displaced native Old English fulfremednes.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /pɚˈfɛk.ʃən/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛkʃən

Noun

perfection (countable and uncountable, plural perfections)

1. The quality or state of being perfect or complete, so that nothing substandard remains; the highest attainable state or degree of excellence

   We seek complete perfection.

   The system runs to perfection.

   to imitate a model to perfection

2. A quality, endowment, or acquirement completely excellent; an ideal; faultlessness; especially, the divine attribute of complete excellence.
   • a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:

     No tongue can her perfections tell

Quotations

• 1784, William Jones, The Description and Use of a New Portable Orrery, &c., PREFACE

  THE favourable reception the Orrery has met with from Perſons of the firſt diſtinction, and from Gentlemen and Ladies in general, has induced me to add to it ſeveral new improvements in order to give it a degree of Perfection; and diſtinguiſh it from others ; which by Piracy, or Imitation, may be introduced to the Public.

Synonyms

• faultlessness
• flawlessness
• impeccability
• infallibility

Derived terms

• counsel of perfection
• perfection is the enemy of good
• perfection salad
• pitch-perfection
• prick of perfection
• to perfection

 

Translations

being perfect

• Arabic: كَمَال m (kamāl), إتقان m (ʔitqān)
• Asturian: perfeición f
• Azerbaijani: mükəmməliyyət
• Catalan: perfecció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 完美 (zh) (wánměi), 完善 (zh) (wánshàn), 完成 (zh) (wánchéng)

• Czech: dokonalost (cs) f
• Dutch: perfectie (nl) f
• Estonian: täiuslikkus
• Finnish: täydellisyys (fi)
• French: perfection (fr) f
• Galician: perfección (gl) f
• German: Vollkommenheit (de) f, Perfektion (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍄𐍃 f (ustauhts)
• Greek: τελειότητα (el) f (teleiótita)

  Ancient: τελειότης f (teleiótēs)

• Hebrew: הִשׁתַלְמוּת (hishtalmut)
• Hindi: कमाल (hi) m (kamāl)
• Hungarian: tökéletesség (hu), tökély (hu)
• Indonesian: kesempurnaan (id)
• Irish: foirfeacht f
• Italian: perfezione (it) f
• Japanese: 完全 (ja) (kanzen), 完璧 (ja) (kampeki), 万全 (ja) (banzen)
• Korean: 완벽 (ko) (wanbyeok), 완전 (ko) (wanjeon)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: bêkêmasîtî (ku)

• Latin: perfectiō f
• Maori: paruhitanga
• Occitan: perfeccion (oc) f
• Old English: fulfremednes f
• Persian: کمال (fa) (kamâl)
• Polish: doskonałość (pl) f, perfekcja (pl) f
• Portuguese: perfeição (pt) f
• Romanian: perfecțiune (ro) f
• Russian: соверше́нство (ru) n (soveršénstvo)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: саврше́нство n

  Roman: savršénstvo (sh) n

• Spanish: perfección (es) f
• Swahili: ukamilifu (sw)
• Thai: ความสมบูรณ์ (th) (kwaam sŏmboon)
• Turkish: mükemmellik (tr), mükemmeliyet (tr), kusursuzluk (tr)
• Ukrainian: доскона́лість f (doskonálistʹ)
• Vietnamese: sự hoàn hảo

Verb

perfection (third-person singular simple present perfections, present participle perfectioning, simple past and past participle perfectioned)

1. (now uncommon and nonstandard, transitive) To perfect.
   • 1762, [Samuel] Foote, The Orators. […], Dublin: […] Thomas Richey, […], →OCLC, Act I, page 10:

     My plan, gentlemen, is to be conſider'd as a ſuperſtructure on that admirable foundation laid by the modern profeſſor of Engliſh, both our labours tending to the ſame general end; the perfectioning of our countrymen in a moſt eſſential article, the right uſe of their native language.

   • 1770, William Woty, Mock Invocation to Genius‎^[1]:

     Sooner I'd kneel unto the modern nine / Alike perfectioned, though a virgin's name / They cannot boast […]

   • 2001 December 3, OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol, “AHSM Storytellers, Profiles”, in alt.hentai.sailor-moon‎^[2] (Usenet):

     The most vain of the Assistants, she knows she's beautiful and let it know to the world. Acts like an ojousama and spends most of her time perfectioning her make-up.

References

• “perfection”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin perfectiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛʁ.fɛk.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

perfection f (uncountable)

1. perfection

Derived terms

• à la perfection
• la perfection n’est pas de ce monde
• perfectionnisme
• perfectionniste

 

Related terms

• parfait

Further reading

• “perfection”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle French

Noun

perfection f (plural perfections)

1. perfection