persistence 
sistenza, < ML. 'persistentia, < L. persistences, 
persistent: see persistent.] 1. The quality of 
being persistent; steady or firm adherence to 
or continuance in a state, course of action, or 
pursuit that has been entered upon; especially 
(of persons), a more or less obstinate persever- 
ance; perseverance notwithstanding opposi- 
tion, warning, remonstrance, etc. 2. The con- 
tinuance of an effect after the cause which first 
gave rise to it is removed : as, the persistence of 
the impression of light on the retina after the 
luminous object is withdrawn ; the persistence 
of force Persistence of force, the law of mechanics. 
The phrase was introduced by Herbert Spencer to sum 
up all the laws of mechanics, especially the two principles 
of the permanence of matter and the conservation of en- 
ergy. The law of action and reaction may be considered 
as consisting in the persistence of the algebraic sum of the 
momenta ; and in fact every such law may be stated in an 
Integrated form which contains an arbitrary constant in- 
dependent of the time. Persistence of vision, the con- 
tinuance of a visual impression upon the retina of the eye 
after the exciting cause is removed. The length of time 
varies with the intensity of the light and the excitability 
of the retina, and ordinarily is brief, though the duration 
may be for hours or even days. The after-image may be 
either positive or negative, the latter when the bright 
parts appear dark and the colored parts in their corre- 
sponding contrast-colors. It is because of this persis- 
tence that, for example, a firebrand moved very rapidly 
appears as a line or circle of light. The phenakistoscope, 
zoetrope, and other similar contrivances depend for their 
effect upon this principle. =SyTL 1. Industry, Application, 
etc. (see assiduity), pertinacity, doggedness. 
persistency (per-sis'ten-si), . [As persistence 
(see -cy).] Same as persistence, 1. 
By this hand, thou thinkest me as far In the devil's book 
as thou and Kalstatf for obduracy and persistency. 
Skat., 2 Hen. IV., ii. 2. 50. 
persistent (per-sis'tent), a. [= F.persistant = 
Sp. Pg. It. persistence, < L. persisten(t-)s, ppr. of 
persistere, persist: see persist.'] 1. Persisting 
or continuing in spite of opposition, warning, 
remonstrance, etc. ; refusing to cease or give up 
some action, course, or pursuit; persevering: 
as, a persistent beggar; persistent attempts to 
do something. 
Henceforward rarely could she front in hall, 
Or elsewhere, Modred's narrow foxy face, 
Heart-hiding smile, and gray persistent eye. 
Tennyson, Guinevere. 
2. That endures ; enduring. 
Strange that some of us, with quick alternate vision, 
see beyond our infatuations, and, even while we rave on 
the heights, behold the wide plain where OUT persistent 
self pauses and awaits us. 
George Eliot, Middleman*, I. 168. 
Matter is indestructible, motion is continuous, and be- 
neath both these universal truths lies the fundamental 
truth that force is persistent. J. Fiike, Idea of God, p. 160. 
3. Specifically (a) In bot., continuing with- 
out withering: opposed to caducous, deciduous, 
or marcescent: as, a, persistent calyx (one re- 
maining after the corolla has withered). (6) In 
zool., perennial ; holding to morphological char- 
acter, or continuing in functional activity; not 
degenerate, deciduous, or caducous, as a part 
or an organ: as, persistent types of structure; 
the persistent horns of cattle or gills of newts. 
There are several groups which show special marks of 
degeneracy. Such are the reduced maxillary bones and 
persistent gills of the Proteida. 
E. D. Cope, Origin of the Fittest, p. 333. 
4. Repeated; continual. 
The persistent breathing of such air tends to lower all 
kinds of vital energy, and predisposes to disease. 
Huxley and Youmane, Physiol., 128. 
Persistent character, in morphology, a character not 
necessarily essential, but found through a large series of 
species or groups. Such a character is said to persist as 
we ascend in the scale of structure. Persistent pulp 
See dental palp, under dental. 
persistently (per-sis'tent-li), adv. So as to per- 
sist; in a persistent manner; with persistency, 
persistingly (per-sis'ting-li), adv. In a persist- 
ing manner; perse veringly; steadily, 
persistiye (per-sis'tiv), a. [< persist + -ive.~\ 
Steady in persisting ; persevering ; persistent. 
To find iiersistiix constancy In men. 
Shalr., T. and C., 1. S. 21. 
persolvet (per-solv'), v. t. [= Pg. persolver = 
It. persolvere, < L. persolvere, discharge or re- 
lease completely, pay, pay out, give, render, < 
per, through, + solvere, loose, release: see 
solve.] To pay in full or wholly. 
Or els l.m. crounes [were] yerely to be persolued & paied 
within the toure of London, by the space of ix yeres 
Hall, Hen. IV., an. 14. 
Yea, if all thynges must be persolued that hath bene 
promysed in papisme, then must king Johas most iniuri- 
ouse & hurtful vowe be also fulfilled in al his successours. 
Bp. Bale, Apology, fol. 83. 
person (per'spn or per'sn), n. [< ME. person, 
persun, persone, prrnoun, parson, a person or 
4414 
parson, < OF. persone, person, parson, F. per- 
sonne, person, = Sp. persona = Pg. pessoa = It. 
persona, a person, character, = OFries. persona, 
persenna, persinna, person, parson, = MD. per- 
soon, D. persoon, person, character, = MLG. 
persone, person, character, parson, = MHG. 
persone, person, G. person, person, = Icel. per- 
sona, personi, person, parson, = Sw. Dan. per- 
son, person, personage, character, < L. persona, 
a mask for actors, hence a personage, charac- 
ter, or a part represented by an actor, a part 
which one sustains in the world, a person or 
personage, ML. also a parson; said to be de- 
rived, with lengthening of the radical vowel, 
< personare, sound through, resound, make a 
sound on a musical instrument, play, call out, 
etc., < per, through, + sonare, sound, < sonus, 
sound: see sonant, sounds. The orig. sense 
'mask' is late in E., and is a mere Latinism.] 
If. A mask anciently worn by actors, cover- 
ing the whole head, and varying according to 
the character to be represented ; hence, a mask 
or disguise. 
Certain it is that no man can long put on a person and 
act a part but his evil manners will peep through the 
corners of the white robe. 
Jer. Taylor, Apples of Sodom, Hi. 
2. The character represented by such a mask 
or by the player who wore it ; hence, charac- 
ter; role; the part which one assumes or sus- 
tains on the stage or in life. 
From his first appearance upon the stage, in his new 
person of a sycophant or juggler, instead of his formerpcr- 
son of a prince, he [Perkin Warbeck] was exposed to the 
derision not only of the courtiers, but also of the common 
people. Bacon, Hist. Hen. VII., p. 186. 
I then did use the person of your father ; 
The image of his power lay in me. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., v. 2. 74. 
I must take upon me the person of a philosopher, and 
make them a present of my advice. 
Steele, Guardian, No. 141. 
3. A human being; a man, woman, or child; 
an individual; in a broader sense, a self-con- 
scious being. See def. 9, and personality, 1. 
Nyghe that Cytee of Tyberie is the Hille where cure 
Lord fedde 5 thousand Persones with 5 burly Loves and 2 
Fisshes. Mandeville, Travels, p. 116. 
There were some Hundreds of Coaches of Persons of 
the best Quality. Lister, Journey to Paris, p. 6. 
Person ... is a thinking intelligent being, that has 
reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the 
same thinking thing, in different times and places. 
Locke, Human Understanding, II. xxvii. 9. 
Passing to the higher level of intellection, we come at 
length upon the concept which every intelligent being 
more or less distinctly forms of himself as a person, M. or 
N. . having such and such a character, tastes, and convic- 
tions, such and such a history, and such and such an aim 
in life. J. Ward, Encyc. Brit., XX. 84. 
4f. An individual of importance, distinction, or 
dignity ; a personage. 
And on her hedde she had a croune ; 
Her semed well an high persoun, 
For round enuiron her crownet 
Was full of rich stones fret. Rom. of the Rose. 
As I'm a Person, I'll have you bastinado'd with Broom- 
sticks. Congreve, Way of the World, iv. 11. 
5. In an affected sense, an individual of no im- 
portance or not entitled to social recognition : 
commonly applied to female servants or em- 
ployees : as, a capable young person as milli- 
ner's assistant; a respectable person as cook. 
[Colloq.,Eng.] 
The " young person "of the quite ordinary middle classes, 
presumably so much brighter, and so much fuller of in- 
itiative, than the youth with whom she condescends to 
consort. The Academy, June 15, 1889, p. 420. 
6f. The rector of a parish; a parson. See par- 
son. 
And now persones han parceyued that freres parte with 
hem, 
Thise possessioneres preche and depraue freres. 
Piers Plowman (B), v. 143. 
The person of the toun hir fader was. 
Chaucer, Reeve's Tale, 1. 23. 
Jerom was vicar of Stepnie, and Garrard was person of 
Honie-lane. 
Holinshed, Chron. of England, p. 953. (Latham.) 
7. The human form in its characteristic com- 
pleteness ; the body of the living man or woman 
with all that belongs to it ; bodily form ; exter- 
nal appearance: as, offenses against the person; 
the king's person was held sacred ; the adorn- 
ment of the person. 
King Henry, our great master, doth commit 
His person to your loyalty. 
Ford, Perkin Warbeck, i. 3. 
At our arrival!, a Soldier convey'd us to the Governor, 
where our names were taken, and o' persons examin'd 
very strictly. Evelyn, Diary, Sept. 12, 1641. 
The person of the orator was in perfect harmony with 
his oratory. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vii. 
personage 
8. In liol. and morpliol., an individual in a nar- 
row sense, as the shoot or bud of a plant, a poly- 
pite or medusa, a zoo'id, etc. In the nomenclature 
of the parts of hydroid polyps some authors recognize (1) 
locomotive, (2) nutritive, (3) protective, (4) tentacular, and 
(5)generative persons, represented respectively by the nec- 
tocalyces, stomachal parts, hydrophyllia, nematocysts, and 
medusa;, or their equivalents. Also persona. 
9. In law: (a) A living human being. (6) A 
human being having rights and duties before 
the law; one not a slave. In old Koman law 
slaves were not considered to be persons, (c) 
A being, whether natural or artificial, whether 
an individual or a body corporate other than 
the state, having rights and duties before the 
law. 10. [cap. or 1. c.] In theol., a term used 
in definitions of the Trinity for what is indi- 
vidual in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, dis- 
tinguishing one from the other: opposed to 
essence, which denotes what is common to 
them. 
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the 
Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. Athanasian Creed. 
What I denominate a Person is a substance of the Di- 
vine essence which is related to the others and yet distin- 
guished from them by an incommunicable property. 
Calvin's Institutes, i. 13. 
11. In gram., one of three relations in which 
a subject stands related to a verb, and which 
are in many languages distinguished by differ- 
ences in the form of the verb itself: namely, 
the first person, that of the speaker ; the second, 
that of the one spoken to ; and the third, that 
of the person or thing spoken of. 
Person is the face of a word, quhilk in diverse formes of 
speach it diverselie putes on : as, I, Peter, say that thou 
art the sou of God. Thou, Peter, sayes that I am the son 
of God. Peter said that I am the son of God. 
A. Bume, Orthographic (E. E. T. 8.), p. 27. 
Artificial person, in law, a corporation or body poli- 
tic, sometimes termed legal person. See natural person, 
below. Confident person. See confident. Confuta- 
tion of the person, diversity of person, etc. See con- 
futation, etc. Generative person. See generative. In 
person, (a) As regards the body orexternal appearance: as, 
he was not agreeable in person, (b) In the flesh ; actually ; 
with bodily presence, and not by deputy or representative : 
as, he came in person; he paid the money in person. 
Jurisdiction o t the person. See jurisdiction, 1 . Legal 
person. Same as artificial person. Locomotive, nutri- 
tive, etc., person. See the adj ectives. Natural person 
in law, a human being, in contradistinction to an artificial 
person. See corporation. Persons Of color. Seecofrw. 
Protective, tentacular, etc. , person. See the adjectives. 
Third person, (a) See def. 11. (6) The Holy Ghost, (c) 
An expression common in legal phraseology to indicate 
any one not a party to a contract, relation, or legal proceed- 
ing under consideration : as, the liability of members of a 
corporation to third persons. = Syn. 2-4. Person, Indi- 
vidual, Personage. Person is the most general and com- 
mon word for a human being, of either sex and of any age 
or social grade, without emphasizing the fact that there 
is but one, or, if there are more than one, viewing them 
severally : as, I met a person who said, etc. Individual 
views a person as standing alone, or persons as standing 
separately before the mind : as, the rights of the individual ; 
the rights of individuals; it is incorrect to use individual 
for person unemphatically : as, there were several individ- 
uals in the room. A personage is an important, distin- 
guished, or illustrious person : hence, the state has been 
called a great moral personage."* 
persont (per'son), v. t. [< person, n.} To repre- 
sent as a person ; personify. Milton. 
persona (per-so'na), n. ; pl.personse (-ne). [NL., 
< L. persona : see person.] In biol., same as 
person, 8. 
personable (per'son-a-bl) , a. [< OF. personable, 
personnable; as person + -able.] 1. Having a 
well-formed body or person ; of good appear- 
ance; comely; presentable. 
Her feigning fancie did pourtray 
Him such as fittest she for love could find, 
Wise, warlike, personable, courteous, and kind. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. iv. 5. 
The people, he affirmed, were white, comely, long-beard- 
ed, and very personable. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 407. 
2. In law: (a) Qualified to maintain pleas in 
court. (6) Competent to take anything granted 
or given. 3f. Personally visible; able to be 
interviewed. 
My saied lorde of Winchester saied unto the kyng that 
the kyng his father, so visited with sickenesse, was not 
personable. Hall, Hen. VI., f. 13. (HalliweU.) 
personableness (per'son-a-bl-nes), 11. Bodily 
form; stature; personage. 
They [of Japan] much esteeme a tall pergonablenesse : 
they plucke off the haires on their head, . . . leauing but 
a little growing behinde. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 623. 
persons, n. Plural of persona. 
personage (per'son-aj), n. [< OF. personage, 
F. personnage = Pr. personatge = Sp. personajv 
= Pg. personagem = It. personaygio. < ML. per- 
sonaticum, also, after OF. personagium, dramat- 
ic representation, personation, also an image, 
also a parsonage (see parsonage), < L. persona. 
