Etymology

perfunctory

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Today it means: Done only or merely to conform to a minimal standard or to fulfill a protocol or presumptive duty. Full definition →

Late Latin perfunctōrius
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The story

  1. Late Latin · derived fromperfunctōrius“careless, negligent”
  2. English todayperfunctory

From Late Latin perfunctōrius (“careless, negligent”), from the past participial stem of perfungor, perfunct- (“perform, carry through”), from per- + fungor.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.