From peri (through) and peirō (to pierce). To pierce all the way through, to impale. Paul uses it of those who pierce themselves with many griefs through the love of money.
Paul warns that those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and are 'pierced through with many griefs' (1 Timothy 6:10). The love of money is not merely a surface wound — it pierces through the soul completely. Greed is self-inflicted spiritual injury.