Skip to content

The word for today is…

perjury (noun):

: the voluntary violation of an oath or vow either by swearing to what is untrue or by omission to do what has been promised under oath : false swearing

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology :The prefix per- in Latin often meant “harmfully”. So witnesses who perjure themselves do harm to the truth by knowingly telling a lie. Not all lying is perjury, only lying under oath; so perjury generally takes place either in court or before a legislative body. In the USA, to avoid committing perjury, a witness or defendant may “take the Fifth”: that is, refuse to answer a question because the answer might be an admission of guilt, and the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution forbids forcing a citizen to admit to being guilty of a crime.

If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.

Latest