Perfidy

Etymology

Latin perfidia, from perfidus faithless, from per- detrimental to + fides faith — more at per-, faith

• Date: 1592

Definitions

• 1 : the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal : treachery
• 2 : an act or an instance of disloyalty

Description

In the context of war, perfidy is a form of deception, in which one side promises to act in good faith (e.g. by raising a flag of surrender) with the intention of breaking that promise once the enemy has exposed himself (e.g. by coming out of cover in order to capture the surrendering forces).

In this regard, perfidy relates to false flag operations or covert operations which are designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one's own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations, and have been used in peace-time; for example during Italy's strategy of tension.