pericul

Pericul is a term used primarily as a linguistic stem rather than as a widely recognized standalone word. It derives from the Latin neuter noun periculum, meaning danger or risk. In classical Latin, the base pericul- appears in inflected forms such as periculi (genitive singular) and periculo (dative or ablative singular), and it underlies the plural neuter form pericula. The same stem also yields related adjectives, for example periculosus, meaning dangerous, formed by adding standard Latin suffixes to the stem.

In linguistic and philological contexts, pericul is discussed as part of Latin morphology and word formation rather than as a common dictionary entry. It is not typically listed as an independent lemma in standard Latin dictionaries, where periculum is the principal headword.

Romance languages descended from Latin show cognate words for “danger” that originate from the same root, though they are not identical to the form pericul. Examples include Italian pericolo, Romanian pericol, and Spanish peligro, all ultimately tracing back to Latin periculum. English, through Old French peril, likewise shares the same Latin origin, with peril as a direct descendant rather than a use of the Latin stem pericul itself.

See also: periculum; periculosus; peril; danger.