Perficere

Perficere is a Latin verb meaning to bring to completion, to finish, to accomplish, or to perfect. It is transitive and widely used in both literal and figurative senses, from completing a task to perfecting a skill. In English translations it is commonly rendered as “to complete” or “to accomplish.”

Etymology: The word combines the prefix per- meaning through or thoroughly with facere, “to do” or “to make,” conveying the sense of doing something through to its end.

Grammar: Perficere belongs to the third conjugation of the -io type. Its principal parts are perficio, perficere, perfeci, perfectum. As a Latin verb of the -io class, it follows the characteristic inflection patterns of that group and is used to express completion across various tenses and voices, with both literal and figurative senses.

Usage: Perficere governs a direct object representing what is completed (for example, opus, “work”). It also appears in figurative phrases to indicate bringing something to a state of completion or perfection. An example in classical Latin is: Industria perficit opus, “Industry finishes the work.” The verb occurs in epic, prose, and rhetorical or philosophical contexts, where it often conveys the achievement of a goal, the realization of a plan, or the attainment of a state of completion.