- perpetrate
- c.1450 (implied in perpetration), from L. perpetratus, pp. of perpetrare "to perform, to accomplish," from per- "completely" + patrare "carry out," originally "bring into existence," from pater "father" (see father). Neither good nor bad in L., first used in Eng. in statutes, hence its sense of "to perform criminally." Perpetrator is 1570, from L.L. perpetrator, from L. perpetrare. Police slang shortening perp (e.g. perp walk) is Amer.Eng., by 1940s.