persist

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French persister (recorded from 1321 in Old French),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} or its source borrowed from Late Latin persistō (“to continue steadfastly”),^[2][7][8][9] formed from per- (“through, thoroughly”) and sistō (“to cause to stand; to stand firm”),^[2][4][3][8] itself from the reduplicated base of stō (“to stand”),^[5][3][6] from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”).^[8][1] The OED notes the Latin verb first in the Vetus Latina and the Vulgate.^[2] It is related to stand, state and assist.^[3][5][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

To continue firmly or obstinately in a state, opinion or course of action, especially in spite of opposition: 1531, in Thomas Elyot's Boke Named The Gouernour.^[2][6] Barnhart's first record is from Elyot's Dictionary of 1538.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the same book, Elyot also used it for "to remain in existence, to last",^[2] although Hoad dates that sense only from the 18th century.^[11] Word Origins notes that, etymologically, someone who persists cannot be moved from their course.^[12] The verb could once mean "to remain" with a complement (1538–1724) and, rarely, "to stop short" (1563–1643).^[2] From 1600 it also meant to insist on something,^[2] and since 1698 to keep on saying something, followed by what was said.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "to persevere; to continue firm".^[13] The noun persistence is recorded from 1546, while persistent is not recorded until 1826.^[3]

Timeline

• 1531 – to continue firmly in a course or opinion; to last, endure.^[2][6]
• 1538 – to remain, continue to be (obsolete by 1724).^[2]
• 1563 – to stop short (obsolete by 1643).^[2]
• 1600 – to insist on something.^[2]
• 1698 – to keep on saying.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To keep on doing something firmly or obstinately despite opposition, difficulty or warning: He persisted in asking the same question.^{[6][14][15][2]}
2. To continue to exist or occur; to last or endure: The fog persisted all morning.^[14][15][2]
3. To go on saying something insistently.^[14][2]

Word family

• persister
• persistingly
• persistive
• persistively
• persistiveness

Related words

• persistence
• persistency
• persistent
• assist
• stand
• state
• statue

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
15. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins