Dictionary

Punic faith en · NOUN

Etymology

Calque of Latin fidēs Pūnica.

Meanings

1. (archaic, uncountable) Treachery, deceitfulness, bad faith.
   • His line of education, as well as his father's tenets in matters of church and state, had taught him a holy horror for Papists, and a devout belief in whatever had been said of the Punic faith of Jesuits. 1824, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 16, in Redgauntlet:
   • Mexico . . . weakened her cause by her own punic faith, instability, military oppression, and political revolutions, giving to the Texans in particular ample justification for their revolt. 1848, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 5, in Jack Tier:
   • The Carthaginians, in the Roman view, were treacherous fellows. "Punica fides" ("Punic faith") became Latin for double-dealing. 1944 October 9, “Education: International Insults”, in Time, retrieved 06 Aug 2014:
   • Mr. Bright . . . speaks in the following terms, in his address to his constituents, of the Punic faith of the Palmerston-Russell Administration on the question of reform: " . . . The House which was returned at that election has been disloyal to its pledges, and has neglected its first duty." 1865 July 14, “Bright on Parliamentary Reform”, in New York Times, retrieved 06 Aug 2014:

Forms

Relateds

Attic faith

Synonyms

perfidy · traitory · Judas kiss · perfidy · breach of trust · prodition · treason · treachery · swike · stab in the back · treacherousness · perfidiousness · betrayal · breach of promise · tergiversation · prodition · Punic faith · traitory · double-dealing

Translations (3)

pt fé púnica (Translations) · la fidēs Pūnica (Translations) · fr foi punique (Translations)