persecute

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English persecuten,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Middle French persecuter,^[5][3][6] recorded in Old French from the beginning of the 14th century,^[5][4] and directly borrowed from Latin persecūtus,^[2][4] the past participle of persequor (“to follow, pursue, hunt down; to proceed against”),^[4][5][7] from per- (“through”) and sequor (“to follow”),^[4][8][5] from Proto-Indo-European *sekw- (“to follow”).^[4][9] Most dictionaries explain the French verb as a back-formation from persecuteur (“persecutor”),^{[9][6][10][11][7][3]} from Late Latin persecūtor (“pursuer, prosecutor”).^[9][3][12] The revised OED allows either this or Medieval Latin persecutare, recorded in a British source from the first half of the 12th century, a frequentative of the classical verb.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To seek out and treat with hostility: thes peple… that persecutithe me for sustenynge and saienge of trouthe, in Scrope's translation of the Dicts and Sayings of the Philosophers (1450, manuscript before 1475).^[2][5][3] Barnhart notes an earlier use, probably before 1425, in a translation of Higden, where the word is confused with prosecute.^[3] The noun persecution is about a century older than the verb.^[5][3][13]

Semantic evolution

Classical Latin persequor already meant "to follow with hostility" as well as "to pursue, go through with", and the Vulgate added persecution on religious grounds,^[5] with which Weekley links the early English noun, used especially of the early Church.^[13] English also took over the Latin senses of plain pursuit: from 1477 "to chase or hunt", as in Dryden's To persecute from far the flying Doe.^[5][11] From 1546 it also meant "to follow up a subject"; both senses are now obsolete.^[5] From about 1475 it could also mean annoying or pestering someone,^[5] and Johnson in 1755 lists "to harass with penalties", which he says is "generally used of penalties inflicted for opinions", and "to importune much".^[14]

Timeline

• 1450 – to subject to hostility or ill-treatment, in Scrope.^[2][5][3]
• c. 1475 – to afflict or harass; to pester.^[5]
• 1477 – to chase or hunt with intent to capture or kill (obsolete by 1839), in Caxton.^[5]
• 1483 – to prosecute at law, in Caxton.^[5]
• 1546 – to follow up or pursue a subject (obsolete by 1661).^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To oppress or ill-treat someone, especially because of race, religion or political belief: The regime persecuted the sect for its teachings.^{[10][9][6][5]}
2. To harass or annoy someone persistently: A neighbour persecuted the new tenants with petty complaints.^[10][9][5]
3. (dialect or humorous) To prosecute someone at law.^[6][5][15]
4. (obsolete, 1477–1839) To chase or hunt with intent to capture or kill.^[6][5][11]
5. (obsolete, 1546–1661) To follow up a subject or carry something through.^[6][5][11]

Word family

• persecutee
• persecutor
• persecutive
• persecutory
• persecutingly
• persecutiveness
• unpersecuted

Related words

• persecution
• prosecute
• sequence
• sequel
• consequence
• obsequious
• pursue
• sue
• suit
• second
• sect
• subsequent

Usage notes

In English dialect the verb long stayed in use for prosecute, recorded in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, Norfolk and Dorset.^[15] Wright cites a notice near the Foss-dyke at Lincoln: Trespassers will be persecuted.^[15]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
13. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
14. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
15. ^ a b c Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)