perfect 
(6) Of a chord, cadence, or period, complete; 
fully satisfactory. Thus, a. perfect chord or triad is a 
triad', major or minor, in its original position ; a perfect 
cadence is a simple authentic or plagal cadence ; and a 
perfect period is one that is fully balanced or filled out. 
(c) In medieval music, of rhythm, time, or mea- 
sure, triple. See measure, 112 Most perfect ens. 
See em. Perfect being, the being whose essence in- 
volves existence; God. Perfect cadence, concord, 
consonance. See the nouns. Perfect definition, a defi- 
nition which perfectly explains the essence of a thing by 
its essential attributes. Perfect demonstration, a dem- 
onstration that not only shows that a fact is so, but also 
4392 
insect, whether winged or wingless. Perfect metals. 
Same as noble metals (which see, under metal). Perfect 
metamorphosis, in entom., a metamorphosis in which 
there is a well-marked pupa stage between the larva and 
the imago. Also called complete metamorphosis. See cut 
under Orgyia. Perfec t note. See note. Perfect num- 
ber, a number that is equal to the sum of all its divisors 
or aliquot parts, as 28 (= 1 + 2 + 4 H 7 + 14). Perfect 
octave. See octave, 2. - Perfect proposition, a categor- 
ical proposition. Perfect speech, a speech that makes 
complete sense. 
Speech is either perfect or imperfect. Perfect is that 
that absolves the sentence. 
Buryensdicius, tr. by a Gentleman, i. 24. 
Perfect syllogism, a syllogism from which no part has 
been omitted.- Perfect tense, in gram., a tense express- 
ing completed time, or a variety of past time involving 
some reference to the present : instanced by / have done, 
and the like. The same word is added to the titles of oth- 
er tenses when a like implication is made: thus, I shall 
have done, future perfect ; / should have done, conditional 
perfect; and so on. Perfect yellow. See yellow. To 
make perfect, in printing, to print on both sides. =Syn. 
4. Faultless, blameless, unblemished, holy. 
II. n. In gram., the perfect tense. See above. 
Historical perfect. See historical, 4. 
perfect (per'fekt or per-fekt'), . t. [Early 
mod. E. sdsoperfit; = It. perfettare ; from the 
adj.] 1. To finish or complete so as to leave 
nothing wanting; bring to completion or per- 
fection : as, to perfect a picture or a statue. 
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love 
'^perfected in us. 1 John iv. 12. 
It is the duty of art to perfect and exalt nature. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 214. 
Exact Reformation is not perflted at the first push. 
Milton, Reformation in Eng., i. 
I pray certify me, by the next occasion, what the wine 
cost for the common use, and if you have laid out any 
more in that kind, that I may perfect my account. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 446. 
But a night there is 
Betwixt me and the perfecting of bliss ! 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, III. 313. 
That you may well perceive I have not wrong'd you, 
One of the greatest in the Christian world 
Shall be my surety ; 'fore whose throne 'tis needful, 
Ere I can perfect mine intents, to kneel. 
Shale., All's Well, iv. 4. 4. 
2. To make perfect ; instruct fully ; make ful- 
ly informed or skilled : as, to perfect one's self 
in the principles of architecture; to perfect 
soldiers in discipline. 
Euery man taking charge may be ... well taught, per- 
fited, and readily instructed in all the premisses. 
HaUuyt's Voyages, I. 262. 
Whence might this distaste arise? 
Be at least so kind to perfect me in that. 
Webster and Roivley, Cure for a Cuckold, i. 1. 
To perfect bail. See 6ai72.=Syn. 1. To accomplish, 
consummate. 
perfectation(per-fek-ta'sliou),. [< perfect + 
-ation.] The act or process of bringing to per- 
fection; perfecting. [Rare.] 
Does it not appear ... as if the very influence which 
we pointed out in the last chapter, as rendering the per- 
feetation of the race feasible, must have a distinctively 
antagonistic operation ? W. R. Greg. 
perfecter (per'fek-ter or per-f ek'ter), n. ^per- 
fect + -o' 1 .] One who perfects, completes, or 
finishes ; one who makes perfect. 
Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 
looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith. 
Heb. xii. 2 (revised version). 
Perfecti (per-fek'ti), n. pi. [ML., pi. of L. per- 
fectus, perfect: see perfect, a.] A body of 
Catharists in the twelfth and thirteenth cen- 
turies, who assumed the name on account of 
the strictness of their lives. 
perfectibilist(per-fek'ti-bil-ist),H. [(perfecti- 
ble + -ist.~\ One who believes in the perfecti- 
bility of human nature in this life ; a perfec- 
tionist. - Society of the Perfectlbillsts. Same as Or- 
der of the Illuminati (which see, under llluminati). 
perfectibility (per-f ek-ti-bil'i-ti), n. [= F. per- 
fectibilite = Sp. perfectibilidad = Pg. perfecti- 
Ulidade = It. perfettibilita, < ML. 'perfectibili- 
ta(t-)s, < *perfectibilis, perfectible: see perfecti- 
ble.'] The property of being perfectible ; the 
property of being susceptible of becoming or 
being made perfect ; specifically, the capability 
of arriving at perfection in this life, whether a 
general perfection of the human faculties or 
Christian perfection. 
It is even possible . . . that if Clifford, in his foregoing 
life, had enjoyed the means of cultivating his taste to its 
utmost perfectibility, that subtle attribute might, before 
this period', have completely eaten out or filed away his 
affections. Hawthorne, Seven Gables, vii. 
perfectible (per-f ek'ti-bl), a. [= F. perfectible 
= Pg. perfectivel It. perfettibile, < ML. *per- 
fectibilis (t),<. L. perfcctits, perfect: see perfect,] 
Capable of becoming or being made perfect, or 
of arriving at the utmost perfection possible. 
perfecting (per-f ek'ting), n. [Verbal n. of per- 
fect, v.] Printing on both sides. 
p'erfecting-machine (per-fek'ting-ma-shen"), 
H. Same as perfecting-press. [British.] 
perfecting-press (per-fek'ting-pres), . In 
printing, a press in which the paper is printed 
on both sides at one operation. 
perfection (per-f ek'shon), n. [< ME. perfec- 
cion, perfeccyone, perfeccioun, perfecciun, < OF. 
(and F. j perfection = Sp. perfection = Pg. per- 
feicao = It. perfeeione, < L. perfectio(n-), a fin- 
ishing, perfection, < perficere, pp. pcrfectus, 
finish, complete: see perfect.] If. Perform- 
ance; accomplishment. 
Lovers . . . vowing more than the perfection of ten, and 
discharging less than the tenth part of one. 
Shale., T. and 0., iii. 2. 94. 
Would any reasonable creature make these his serious 
studies and perfections, much less only live to these ends? 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, v. 2. 
2. The state of being perfect, as in material, 
form, design, composition, construction, opera- 
tion, action, qualification, etc.; that degree of 
excellence which leaves nothing to be desired, 
or in which nothing requisite is wanting; en- 
tire freedom from defect, blemish, weakness, 
or liability to err or fail ; supreme excellence, 
whether moral or material; completeness or 
thoroughness: as, perfection in an art; fruits 
in perfection; the perfection of beauty: often 
used concretely: as, she is perfection. 
Howbeit I wyll answere these messengers that theyr 
comyng pleaseth megreatlye, and that mydoughter shuld 
be happy if she myght come to so great perfection as to 
be conioyned in maryage to the erle of Queries. 
Berners, tr. of Froissart's Chron., II. ex. 
Tyme shall breed skill, and vse shall bring perfection. 
Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 89. 
If we affect him not far above and before all things, 
our religion hath not that inward perfection which it should 
have. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 6. 
He never plays, but reades much, having the Latin, 
French, and Spanish tongues in perfection. 
Evelyn, Diary, Sept. 10, 1677. 
The Roman language arrived at great perfection before 
it began to decay. Swift, Improving the English Tongue. 
Everybody, again, understands distinctly enough what 
is meant by man's perfection his reaching the best which 
his powers and circumstances allow him to reach. 
M. Arnold, Literature and Dogma, i. 
3. A quality, trait, feature, endowment, or ac- 
quirement that is characterized by excellence 
or is of great worth or value ; excellency. 
What tongue can her perfections tell ? 
Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, ii. 
Ye wonder how this noble Daraozell 
So great perfections did in her compile. 
Spenser, F. Q., HI. vi. 1. 
The unity, the simplicity or inseparability of all the 
properties of Deity, is one of the chief perfections I con- 
ceive him to possess. 
Descartes, Meditations (tr. by Veitch), iii. 
4. The extreme ; the highest degree ; consum- 
mation: as, the perfection of cruelty. [Colloq.] 
Other Saluages assaulted the rest and slew them, strip- 
ped them, and tooke what they had ; but fearing this mur- 
ther would come to light, and might cause them to suffer 
for it, would now proceed to the perfection of villanie. 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, II. 36. 
5f. In medieval music, triple rhythm or measure. 
See measure, 12 Absolute perfection, the absence 
of every kind of defect and fault; the perfection of God. 
Accidental perfection, an addition to the essence, im- 
parting higher powers of acting, of receiving impressions, 
etc. Christian perfection. See perfectionism (6). Es- 
sential or transcendental perfection, the possession 
of everything that is necessary to an essence. Esthetic 
perfection, faultless beauty ; the entire agreement of a 
cognition with sense. First and second perfection. 
Same as first and second entelechy or act. See entelechy, 
and energy, 4. Formal perfection, that which in any 
being is better to be than not to be ; conformity to the 
formal laws of thought. Logical perfection. See logi- 
cal. Material perfection of cognition. See materi- 
al. Material perfection of knowledge, conformity to 
the real world; truth. Moral perfection, a perfection 
of the soul or mind. Natural perfection. See natural. 
Perfection of cognition, the union of precision with 
profundity. Perfection of disposition, the entire dis- 
position of matter to the receiving of a given form : nearly 
the same s^Jirst perfection, Perfection of energy, that 
degree of effort which a being is spontaneously disposed to 
perfectly 
put forth. Perfection Of parts, the absence of mutila- 
tion; integrity. Physical perfection, a perfection of 
body. Supernatural perfection, a perfection of mi- 
raculous origin. -Third or last perfection, the attain- 
ment of the end of the thing having the perfection. To 
perfection, (a) fully ; completely ; to the uttermost. 
.lob xi. 7. (6) With the highest degree of excellence or 
success: as, he acted the part to perfection. = Syn. 2. Per- 
fectness, completion, consummation. 
perfection (per-fek'shon), v. t. [< F.perfte- 
tionner = Sp. perfeccionur = Pg. perfecionar, 
perfeiqoar = It. p'erfezionare ; from the noun.] 
To complete ; make perfect. 
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. 
Foote, The Orators, i. 
The gradual perfeclioning of the respiratory machine. 
Huxley, Anat. Invert., p. 58. 
perfectionalt (per-fek'shon-al), a. [< OF. per- 
fectionnal, < perfection, perfection: see perfec- 
'tion and -al.~\ Made complete or perfect. 
I call that [life] perfectional which shall be conferred 
upon the elect immediately after the blessing pronounced 
by Christ. Bp. Pearson, Expos, of Creed, xii. 
perfectionatet (per-fek'shon-at), t'. t. [< per- 
fection + -ate 2 .] To make perfect; bring to 
perfection. 
He has . . . founded an academy for the progress and 
perfectionating of painting. 
Dryden, Dufresnoy's Art of Painting, 24. 
perfectionation (per-fek-sho-na'shon), n. [< 
perfectionate + -ion.'] The act of making per- 
fect. Foreign Quarterly Set: [Rare.] 
perfectioner (per-fek'shon-er), n. One who or 
that which makes perfect or brings to perfec- 
tion. [Bare.] 
Language has been the handmaid of Religion, and Re- 
ligion the herald, instrument, and perfectioner of Civiliza- 
tion. S. Oust, Mod. Langs, of Africa, Int., p. 19. 
perfectionism (per-fek'shon-izm), w. [(perfec- 
tion + -ism.'] The belief that a sinless life is at- 
tainable. Specifically (o) The doctrine, held by many 
Roman Catholics, that those who are justified can observe 
the commands of God, and that their sins are not mortal, 
but venial. (6) The doctrine, held by many Arminian 
Methodists, that a relative perfection called Christian per- 
fection is attainable, and is to be distinguished from abso- 
lute perfection or from the perf ection of angels or of Adam. 
(c 
/"' 
Tl! 
. 
c) The doctrine expressed in the Confession of the Society 
f Friends iu 1676, that the heart can be " free from actu- 
ally sinning and transgressing of the law of God, and in 
that respect perfect." (d) The belief that one can attain 
or has attained a state of absolute moral perfection. Such a 
belief is entertained by persons in various religious bodies. 
perfectionist (per-f ek'shon-ist), n. [= F. perfec- 
tionniste = Sp. perfeccionista ; as perfection + 
-ist.~\ 1. One who believes in any form of per- 
fectionism. 
Our late perfectionists are truly enlightened, who think 
they can live and not sin. Baxter, Saints' Rest, iv. 2. 
Specifically 2. [cap.'] Amemberof theOneida 
Community. See community. Also called Bible 
Communist Christian Perfectionist, a believer in 
Christian perfection. See perfectionism (b). 
perfectionment (per-fek'shon-ment), n. [< F. 
oerfeetionnement ; as perfection, v., + -ment.~\ 
he act of making perfect, or the state of be- 
ing perfect. [Rare.] 
perfective (per-f ek'tiv), a. [= Sp. Pg. perfec- 
tiw = It. perfettivo; as perfect + -ive.] Tend- 
ing or conducing to perfecting or perfection. 
The affections are in the destitution of their perfective 
actions made tumultuous, vexed, and discomposed, to 
height of rage and violence. Jer. Taylor, Works, II. xix. 
perfectively (per-fek'tiv-li), adv. In a perfec- 
tive manner. 
As virtue is seated fundamentally in the intellect, so 
perfectively in the phancy. 
N. Grew, Cosmologia Sacra, ii. 7. 
perfectlesst (per'fekt-les), a. [(.perfect + -less.] 
Falling short of perfection; far from perfec- 
tion. 
Fond Epicure, . . . 
(Not shunning the Atheists sin, but punishment), 
Imaginedst a God so perfect-less, 
In Works defying whom thy words profess. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 7. 
perfectly (per'fekt-li), adv. [Early mod. E. also 
perfitly ; < ME. perfitely, perfyglitly, parfytele ; 
< perfect + -fy 2 .] 1. In a perfect manner; 
wholly; completely; entirely; thoroughly; al- 
together; quite: as, the matter is not perfectly 
clear; the coat is perfectly new. 
Alle tho that beleven perfitely in God schul ben saved. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 135. 
Ther she lyeth in a fayer Chapell, Closyd in a Coffer, hyr 
face bare and nakyed that ye may se it pcrfyghtly. 
TorUnffton, Diarie of Eng. Travel!, p. 10. 
I love you perfectly well. I love both your Person and 
Parts, which are not vulgar. Howell, Letters, I. v. 11. 
Some, indeed, who live in the valleys of the low country 
are perfectly black. Bruce, Source of the Js'ile, II. 217. 
