What is "perfect tense"

Perfect \Per"fect\, a. [OE. parfit, OF. parfit, parfet, parfait, F. parfait, L. perfectus, p. p. of perficere to carry to the end, to perform, finish, perfect; per (see Per-) + facere to make, do. See Fact.]

1. Brought to consummation or completeness; completed; not defective nor redundant; having all the properties or qualities requisite to its nature and kind; without flaw, fault, or blemish; without error; mature; whole; pure; sound; right; correct.

   My strength is made perfect in weakness.
   --2 Cor. xii. 9.

   Three glorious suns, each one a perfect sun.
   --Shak.

   I fear I am not in my perfect mind.
   --Shak.

   O most entire perfect sacrifice!
   --Keble.

   God made thee perfect, not immutable.
   --Milton.

2. Well informed; certain; sure.

   I am perfect that the Pannonains are now in arms.
   --Shak.

3. (Bot.) Hermaphrodite; having both stamens and pistils; -- said of flower.

   Perfect cadence (Mus.), a complete and satisfactory close in harmony, as upon the tonic preceded by the dominant.

   Perfect chord (Mus.), a concord or union of sounds which is perfectly coalescent and agreeable to the ear, as the unison, octave, fifth, and fourth; a perfect consonance; a common chord in its original position of keynote, third, fifth, and octave.

   Perfect number (Arith.), a number equal to the sum of all its divisors; as, 28, whose aliquot parts, or divisors, are 14, 7, 4, 2, 1. See Abundant number, under Abundant.
   --Brande & C.

   Perfect tense (Gram.), a tense which expresses an act or state completed.

   Syn: Finished; consummate; complete; entire; faultless; blameless; unblemished.

n. A verb form indicating that an action or state has been completed at the present time, in the past, or will be completed in the future.

n. a tense of verbs used in describing action that has been completed (sometimes regarded as perfective aspect) [syn: perfective, perfective tense, perfect]