Perform

How to spell perform

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce perform

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does perform mean?

1. verbTo carry out, accomplish, or execute a task, action, or duty.
2. verbTo present a piece of music, drama, or other entertainment before an audience.

Perform in a sentence

• The surgeon will perform the operation early tomorrow morning.

• The band will perform live at the theatre on Friday night.

• New staff must learn to perform each step of the safety check.

• She was nervous to perform in front of such a large crowd.

Where does perform come from?

Language of origin: French

Perform reached English in the 1300s from Anglo-Norman parfourmer, itself an alteration of the Old French verb parfournir, which meant 'to complete, accomplish, or carry through to the end'. That word was built from par-, meaning 'thoroughly' (from the Latin preposition per, 'through'), and fournir, 'to furnish or provide'; so the original idea was of fully furnishing or finishing a task. The interesting twist is that the second half has nothing to do with shape: English speakers reshaped the unfamiliar -fournir ending into the familiar word 'form', which is why we now write -form even though the meaning was never about forming anything. The senses widened over time from simply 'completing a duty' to 'presenting an entertainment before an audience'. Because the spelling looks like a transparent per- plus form, it rarely causes trouble, though the buried connection to 'furnish' is a neat piece of hidden history.

How the word is built

• per- (thoroughly, completely)
• form (verb stem, an English reshaping of Old French fournir 'to furnish, provide')