entry
pertinacious
/ˌpɜːrtɪˈneɪʃəs/Stubbornly persistent; holding on tightly
From Latin per (through) + Latin ten (hold) + Latin / Old French acious (adjectival ending forming qualities or tendencies).
from Latin pertinacia
+1 more sourcefrom Latin pertinax
from Latin pertinax
from Old French pertinace
from Old French pertinace
Word Ancestry
from Latin pertinacia
+1 more sourcefrom Latin pertinax
from Latin pertinax
from Old French pertinace
from Old French pertinace
This word has a wonderfully stubborn little skeleton: Latin per- adds force, and tenax brings the grip of holding on. Put them together in pertinax, and you get something like “holding through and through,” which is much tougher than mere persistence. Old French gave English the shape pertinace, and by the 1620s English speakers had dressed it up with -ous into pertinacious, the sort of adjective a judge, preacher, or irritated schoolmaster might have loved. It shares its muscle with tenacious, tenure, retain, and detain—words that all act as if the mind or hand refuses to let go. Say it aloud and you can almost feel the jaw clench: pertinacious is persistence with its fists balled.
The Story
This word has a wonderfully stubborn little skeleton: Latin per- adds force, and tenax brings the grip of holding on. Put them together in pertinax, and you get something like “holding through and through,” which is much tougher than mere persistence. Old French gave English the shape pertinace, and by the 1620s English speakers had dressed it up with -ous into pertinacious, the sort of adjective a judge, preacher, or irritated schoolmaster might have loved. It shares its muscle with tenacious, tenure, retain, and detain—words that all act as if the mind or hand refuses to let go. Say it aloud and you can almost feel the jaw clench: pertinacious is persistence with its fists balled.
Kin & Kindred
From 'per'·through, very, thoroughly
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'ten'·hold, grasp, keep
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'acious'·adjectival ending forming qualities or tendencies
Derived Terms
English words from this root