perk [LME] The origin of perk in to perk up, ‘to become more lively, cheerful, or interesting’, is not wholly clear, though it may be related to *perch, as ‘perk’ is an early spelling of ‘perch’. A perk meaning a benefit to which you are entitled because of your job is a shortening of perquisite [LME], from medieval Latin perquisitum ‘acquisition’. It is found from the mid 19th century. People began to perk coffee in a percolator [M19th] around 1920. This is from percolate [E17th], which is based on Latin percolare ‘to strain through’.