perfecto

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish perfecto (“perfect”), from Latin perfectus. Doublet of parfait, perfect, and perfectus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pə(ɹ)ˈfɛktəʊ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Adjective

perfecto (comparative more perfecto, superlative most perfecto)

1. (informal, humorous) Perfect, excellent, brilliant.

Noun

perfecto (plural perfectos)

2. A large, tapered cigar.
   • 1937, P. G. Wodehouse, 'Lord Emsworth and Others', Overlook, Woodstock: 2002, p 99.

     'Well the only thing I can advise,' I said, 'is that you cultivate him assiduously. Waylay him and give him cigars... Tell him it's a fine day. He has a dog named Edward. Seek Edward out and pat him. Many a young man has won over the father of the girl he loves by such tactics, so why not you?'

     He agreed to do so, and in the days which followed Poskitt could not show his face in the clubhouse without having Wilmot spring out at him with perfectos.

3. (sports) In baseball or bowling, a perfect game.

French

Etymology

Genericized trademark of Perfecto, a brand of motorcycle jackets designed by Irving Schott, who named it after his favorite cigar (English perfecto (“a large, tapered cigar”)), itself named for Spanish perfecto (“perfect”). Doublet of parfait.

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Agen)):

  (file)

Noun

perfecto m (plural perfectos)

1. bomber jacket

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.

Proto-Italic *per(i)-

Latin per-

Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti

Proto-Italic *θakjō

Proto-Italic *fakjō

Latin faciō

Latin perficiō

Proto-Indo-European *-tus

Proto-Italic *-tus

Latin -tus

Latin perfectusder.

Galician perfecto

Derived from Latin perfectus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌpeɾˈfetto/ [ˌpeɾˈfet̪.t̪ʊ]
• Rhymes: -etto

Adjective

perfecto (feminine perfecta, masculine plural perfectos, feminine plural perfectas)

1. perfect

Derived terms

• perfectamente

Further reading

• “perfecto”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [pɛrˈfɛk.toː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [perˈfɛk.to]

Participle

perfectō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of perfectus

Adjective

perfectō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of perfectus

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.

Proto-Italic *per(i)-

Latin per-

Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti

Proto-Italic *θakjō

Proto-Italic *fakjō

Latin faciō

Latin perficiō

Proto-Indo-European *-tus

Proto-Italic *-tus

Latin -tus

Latin perfectuslbor.

Spanish perfecto

Learned borrowing from Latin perfectus. Compare English perfect, perfectus and parfait.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peɾˈfeɡto/ [peɾˈfeɣ̞.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -eɡto
• Syllabification: per‧fec‧to

Adjective

perfecto (feminine perfecta, masculine plural perfectos, feminine plural perfectas)

1. perfect

   Synonym: impecable

Derived terms

• futuro perfecto
• nadie es perfecto
• número perfecto
• perfectamente
• pretérito perfecto

Related terms

• imperfecto
• perfección
• perfeccionar
• perfeccionismo
• perfeccionista
• perfectivo
• pluscuamperfecto

Further reading

• “perfecto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025