persistence
/pəˈsɪstəns/
noun
Origin
Latin
persistens — standing firm
Overview
Meaning Now
- The quality of continuing firmly or obstinately in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
- The continued or prolonged existence of something.
Literal older meaning
the act of standing through or staying
Language path
Latin → Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
persistence
Earliest period
16th century
Journey
The word entered English during the Renaissance, reflecting the broader adoption of Latinate vocabulary in academic and formal discourse to express abstract concepts of willpower and duration.
Evolution
- Classical Latin
persistere
“to stand through, to continue”
Compound of per- (thoroughly) and sistere (to take a stand).
- Middle French
persistance
“continuance”
- 16th-century English
persistence
“the quality of continuing”
Adopted from French into English.
Connections
Word parts
persist
root
to continue firmly
-ence
suffix
state or quality of
Related across languages
French
persistance
persistence
Spanish
persistencia
persistence
Related words
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Related to persistence
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.