Etymologically
Log in

perseverantia

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word perseverantia

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (persevērō)

Forms

persevērantia f (genitive persevērantiae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin persevērāns + -ia, the present participle of persevērō (“to persist”).[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[4] who defines it in De Inventione as the steady and lasting persistence in a well-considered plan.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

It is resolute continuance in a course of action, persistence, steadfastness;[2][5][3] Cicero also discusses whether pertinācia and persevērantia are the same.[2][5][3] Döderlein counts pervicācia and persevērantia as virtues, firmness in a resolve, the second grounded in a character formed by training, against pertinācia and contumācia as faults.[6] Scribonius Largus uses it of the persistence of a swelling, and Apuleius of the continued existence of the world.[2] Church Latin uses it of perseverance.[7] English perseverance (mid-14th century) came through Old French and directly from Latin.[8]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero defines it.[2][5][4]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius of the world's continued existence.[2]
  • mid-14th century – English perseverance.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Persistence, steadfastness, perseverance; persistence of an illness.[2][5][1][7]
  2. Continued existence.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Perseverantia.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/perseverantia. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·