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• peri
  peri

  noun

  one of a large group of beautiful, fairylike beings of Persian mythology, represented as descended from fallen angels and excluded from paradise until their penance is accomplished.
• Peri
  Peri

  noun

  Jacopo 1561–1633, Italian composer.
• peri-
  peri-

  a prefix meaning “about” or “around” (perimeter, periscope ), “enclosing” or “surrounding” (pericardium ), and “near” (perigee, perihelion ), appearing in loanwords from Greek (peripeteia ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (perimorph ).
• peri–
  peri–

  A prefix that means: “around” (as in pericardium,) or “near” (as in perihelion).

peri

¹ American  

[peer-ee] / ˈpɪər i /

noun

Persian Mythology.

peris plural

1. one of a large group of beautiful, fairylike beings of Persian mythology, represented as descended from fallen angels and excluded from paradise until their penance is accomplished.

2. any lovely, graceful person.

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Peri ² American  

[pe-ree] / ˈpɛ ri /

noun

1. Jacopo 1561–1633, Italian composer.

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peri- ³ American  

1. a prefix meaning “about” or “around” (perimeter, periscope ), “enclosing” or “surrounding” (pericardium ), and “near” (perigee, perihelion ), appearing in loanwords from Greek (peripeteia ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (perimorph ).

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peri- ¹ British  

prefix

1. enclosing, encircling, or around

   pericardium

   pericarp

   perigon

2. near or adjacent

   perihelion

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peri ² British  

/ ˈpɪərɪ /

noun

1. (in Persian folklore) one of a race of beautiful supernatural beings

2. any beautiful fairy-like creature

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peri– Scientific  

1. A prefix that means: “around” (as in pericardium,) or “near” (as in perihelion).

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• peris
  plural

Etymology

Origin of peri¹

1770–80; < Persian perī, variant of parī fairy, Middle Persian parīk, Avestan pairikā witch

Origin of peri-³

< Greek, prefixal use of perí (adv. and preposition)

Example Sentences

“The timing is quite significant just on the back of the India-U.S. trade deal,” said Dinakar Peri, a fellow in the security studies program at Carnegie India, a think tank based in New Delhi.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

Still, “refugees are one of the cleanest and clearest immigrant economic success stories,” said Giovanni Peri, a professor of economics at the University of California, Davis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

In December, Hamas’s military wing released a video showing Mr Peri along with two other elderly hostages from Nir Oz - Yoram Metzger and Amiram Cooper.

From BBC • Aug. 21, 2024

James Burrows discusses directing the original ‘Frasier’ pilot, including why Peri Gilpin replaced Lisa Kudrow as Roz.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2024

In 1597, their first semi-collaborative attempt at this new form, which they called ‘drama through music’, was a piece called Dafhe, with music by one of their number, Jacopo Peri.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall