Perfeccioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition of being free from fault or defect, or of being whole and complete ; the action of bringing a task or design to its finished and fulfilled state
2. Flawlessness or wholeness as a quality something possesses ; the process of carrying an undertaking through to its full and final completion
3. A state of faultlessness and completeness in a thing ; the act of fulfilling or finishing something so that nothing lacking remains

Etymology: Perfection comes from the Latin verb "perficere," built from "per," meaning "through" or "thoroughly," and "facere," meaning "to make or do." To perfect something was to carry it all the way to completion. The Latin noun "perfectio" therefore named the state of being finished, not the state of being flawless, and the flawless sense developed later. English took the term through Old French, and Middle English spelled it "perfeccioun," with the "-ioun" ending that Anglo-French used for nouns of this kind. The spelling later shifted toward the modern "perfection," which follows the Latin more closely.

Synonyms: perfection, completeness

Antonyms: imperfection, flaw