Perseverant - Perspective

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Perseverant (?), a. [L. perseverans, -antis, p. pr.: cf. F. persévérant.] Persevering. [R.] “Perseverant faith.” Whitby. -- Perseverantly, adv. [R.]
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Persevere (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Persevered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Persevering.] [F. persévérer, L. perseverare, fr. perseverus very strict; per + severus strict, severe. See , and .] To persist in any business or enterprise undertaken; to pursue steadily any project or course begun; to maintain a purpose in spite of counter influences, opposition, or discouragement; not to give or abandon what is undertaken.
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Thrice happy, if they know
Their happiness, and persevere upright. Milton.
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Syn. -- To , , . The idea of not laying aside is common to these words. Continue is the generic term, denoting simply to do as one has done hitherto. To persevere is to continue in a given course in spite of discouragements, etc., from a desire to obtain our end. To persist is to continue from a determination of will not to give up. Persist is frequently used in a bad sense, implying obstinacy in pursuing an unworthy aim.
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Persevering (?), a. Characterized by perseverance; persistent. -- Perseveringly, adv.
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Persian (?), a. [From Persia: cf. It. Persiano. Cf. , , .] Of or pertaining to Persia, to the Persians, or to their language.
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Coloq. Persian berry , the fruit of Rhamnus infectorius, a kind of buckthorn, used for dyeing yellow, and imported chiefly from Trebizond. -- Coloq. Persian cat . (Zoöl.) Same as Angora cat, under . -- Coloq. Persian columns (Arch.), columns of which the shaft represents a Persian slave; -- called also Persians. See . -- Coloq. Persian drill (Mech.), a drill which is turned by pushing a nut back and forth along a spirally grooved drill holder. -- Coloq. Persian fire (Med.), malignant pustule. -- Coloq. Persian powder . See Insect powder, under . -- Coloq. Persian red . See Indian red (a), under . -- Coloq. Persian wheel , a noria; a tympanum. See .
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Persian, n. 1. A native or inhabitant of Persia.
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2. The language spoken in Persia.
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3. A thin silk fabric, used formerly for linings. Beck.
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4. pl. (Arch.) See Persian columns, under , a.
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Persic (?), a. [L. Persicus. Cf. .] Of or relating to Persia. -- n. The Persian language.
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Persicaria (?), n. [NL., from LL. persicarius a peach tree. See .] (Bot.) See .
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Persico (?), n. same as .
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Persicot (?), n. [F. See .] A cordial made of the kernels of apricots, nectarines, etc., with refined spirit.
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Persienne (pẽrsĭĕn; pẽrshĭĕn; F. pẽrsyĕn), n. [F., fem. of presien Persian.] Properly, printed calico, whether Oriental or of fanciful design with flowers, etc., in Western work. Hence, as extended in English, material of a similar character.
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Persiennes (pẽrsĭĕnz; F. pẽrsyĕn), n. pl. [F.] Window blinds having movable slats, similar to Venetian blinds.
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Persiflage (?), n. [F., fr. persifler to quiz, fr. L. per + siffler to whistle, hiss, L. sibilare, sifilare.] Frivolous or bantering talk; a frivolous manner of treating any subject, whether serious or otherwise; light raillery. Hannah More.
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Persifleur (?), n. [F.] One who indulges in persiflage; a banterer; a quiz. Carlyle.
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Persimmon (?), n. [Virginia Indian.] (Bot.) An American tree (Diospyros Virginiana) and its fruit, found from New York southward. The fruit is like a plum in appearance, but is very harsh and astringent until it has been exposed to frost, when it becomes palatable and nutritious.
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Coloq. Japanese persimmon , Diospyros Kaki and its red or yellow edible fruit, which outwardly resembles a tomato, but contains a few large seeds.
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Persis (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] A kind of coloring matter obtained from lichens.
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Persism (?), n. Ancient Persian religion, esp. as represented by the Magi.

This system we shall call 'Persism', in order to free ourselves of the popular associations still connected with such terms as magism, Parseeism, and so forth; meaning by 'Persism' the teaching of Zarathustra as it affected the Greek and Latin world. E. Vernon Arnold.
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Persism (?), n. A Persian idiom.
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Persist (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Persisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Persisting.] [L. persistere; per + sistere to stand or be fixed, fr. stare to stand: cf. F. persister. See , and .] To stand firm; to be fixed and unmoved; to stay; to continue steadfastly; especially, to continue fixed in a course of conduct against opposing motives; to persevere; -- sometimes conveying an unfavorable notion, as of doggedness or obstinacy.
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If they persist in pointing their batteries against particular persons, no laws of war forbid the making reprisals. Addison.
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Some positive, persisting fops we know,
Who, if once wrong, will needs be always so. Pope.
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That face persists.
It floats up; it turns over in my mind. Mrs. Browning.
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Syn. -- See , and .
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{ Persistence (?), Persistency (?), } n. [See .] 1. The quality or state of being persistent; staying or continuing quality; hence, in an unfavorable sense, doggedness; obstinacy.
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2. The continuance of an effect after the cause which first gave rise to it is removed; as: (a) (Physics) The persistence of motion. (b) (Physiol.) Visual persistence, or persistence of the visual impression; auditory persistence, etc.
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Persistent (?), a. [L. persistens, -entis, p. pr. of persistere. See .] 1. Inclined to persist; having staying qualities; tenacious of position or purpose.
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2. (Biol.) Remaining beyond the period when parts of the same kind sometimes fall off or are absorbed; permanent; as, persistent teeth or gills; a persistent calyx; -- opposed to deciduous, and caducous.
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Persistently, adv. In a persistent manner.
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Persisting, a. Inclined to persist; tenacious of purpose; persistent. -- Persistingly, adv.
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Persistive (?), a. See . Shak.
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Persnickety (?), a. 1. Finicky or fussy; demanding attention to petty details; -- of people. [Colloq.]
Syn. -- pernickety, pernicketty. [Webster Suppl. +PJC]

2. snobbish; behaving aloofly. [Colloq.]
Syn. -- pernickety, pernicketty. [PJC]

Persolve (?), v. t. [L. persolvere.] To pay wholly, or fully. [Obs.] E. Hall.
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Person (?), n. [OE. persone, persoun, person, parson, OF. persone, F. personne, L. persona a mask (used by actors), a personage, part, a person, fr. personare to sound through; per + sonare to sound. See , and cf. .] 1. A character or part, as in a play; a specific kind or manifestation of individual character, whether in real life, or in literary or dramatic representation; an assumed character. [Archaic]
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His first appearance upon the stage in his new person of a sycophant or juggler. Bacon.
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No man can long put on a person and act a part. Jer. Taylor.
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To bear rule, which was thy part
And person, hadst thou known thyself aright. Milton.
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How different is the same man from himself, as he sustains the person of a magistrate and that of a friend! South.
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2. The bodily form of a human being; body; outward appearance; as, of comely person.
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A fair persone, and strong, and young of age. Chaucer.
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If it assume my noble father's person. Shak.
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Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shined. Milton.
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3. A living, self-conscious being, as distinct from an animal or a thing; a moral agent; a human being; a man, woman, or child.
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Consider what person stands for; which, I think, is a thinking, intelligent being, that has reason and reflection. Locke.
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4. A human being spoken of indefinitely; one; a man; as, any person present.
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5. A parson; the parish priest. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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6. (Theol.) Among Trinitarians, one of the three subdivisions of the Godhead (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost); an hypostasis. “Three persons and one God.” Bk. of Com. Prayer.
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7. (Gram.) One of three relations or conditions (that of speaking, that of being spoken to, and that of being spoken of) pertaining to a noun or a pronoun, and thence also to the verb of which it may be the subject.
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☞ A noun or pronoun, when representing the speaker, is said to be in the first person; when representing what is spoken to, in the second person; when representing what is spoken of, in the third person.
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8. (Biol.) A shoot or bud of a plant; a polyp or zooid of the compound Hydrozoa Anthozoa, etc.; also, an individual, in the narrowest sense, among the higher animals. Haeckel.
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True corms, composed of united personæ . . . usually arise by gemmation, . . . yet in sponges and corals occasionally by fusion of several originally distinct persons. Encyc. Brit.
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Coloq. Artificial person , or Coloq. Fictitious person (Law), a corporation or body politic; -- this term is used in contrast with natural person, a real human being. See also legal person. Blackstone. -- Coloq. Legal person (Law), an individual or group that is allowed by law to take legal action, as plaintiff or defendent. It may include natural persons as well as fictitious persons (such as corporations). -- Coloq. Natural person (Law), a man, woman, or child, in distinction from a corporation. -- Coloq. In person , by one's self; with bodily presence; not by representative. “The king himself in person is set forth.” Shak. -- Coloq. In the person of , in the place of; acting for. Shak.
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Person (?), v. t. To represent as a person; to personify; to impersonate. [Obs.] Milton.
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Persona (?), n.; pl. Personæ (#). [L.] (Biol.) Same as , n., 8.
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Personable (pẽrsŭnȧb'l), a. 1. Having a well-formed body, or person; graceful; comely; of good appearance; presentable; as, a personable man or woman.
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Wise, warlike, personable, courteous, and kind. Spenser.
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The king, . . . so visited with sickness, was not personable. E. Hall.
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2. (Law) (a) Enabled to maintain pleas in court. Cowell. (b) Having capacity to take anything granted.
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Personage (pẽrsŭn�j: 48), n. [F. personnage.] 1. Form, appearance, or belongings of a person; the external appearance, stature, figure, air, and the like, of a person. “In personage stately.” Hayward.
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The damsel well did view his personage. Spenser.
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2. Character assumed or represented. “The actors and personages of this fable.” Broome. “Disguised in a false personage.” Addison.
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3. A notable or distinguished person; a conspicuous or peculiar character; as, an illustrious personage; a comely personage of stature tall. Spenser.
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Personal (pẽrsŭn�l), a. [L. personalis: cf. F. personnel.] 1. Pertaining to human beings as distinct from things.
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Every man so termed by way of personal difference. Hooker.
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2. Of or pertaining to a particular person; relating to, or affecting, an individual, or each of many individuals; peculiar or proper to private concerns; not public or general; as, personal comfort; personal desire.
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The words are conditional, -- If thou doest well, -- and so personal to Cain. Locke.
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3. Pertaining to the external or bodily appearance; corporeal; as, personal charms. Addison.
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4. Done in person; without the intervention of another. “Personal communication.” Fabyan.
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The immediate and personal speaking of God. White.
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5. Relating to an individual, his character, conduct, motives, or private affairs, in an invidious and offensive manner; as, personal reflections or remarks.
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6. (Gram.) Denoting person; as, a personal pronoun.
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Coloq. Personal action (Law), a suit or action by which a man claims a debt or personal duty, or damages in lieu of it; or wherein he claims satisfaction in damages for an injury to his person or property, or the specific recovery of goods or chattels; -- opposed to real action. -- Coloq. Personal equation . (Astron.) See under . -- Coloq. Personal estate or Coloq. Personal property (Law), movables; chattels; -- opposed to real estate or property. It usually consists of things temporary and movable, including all subjects of property not of a freehold nature. -- Coloq. Personal identity (Metaph.), the persistent and continuous unity of the individual person, which is attested by consciousness. -- Coloq. Personal pronoun (Gram.), one of the pronouns I, thou, he, she, it, and their plurals. -- Coloq. Personal representatives (Law), the executors or administrators of a person deceased. -- Coloq. Personal rights , rights appertaining to the person; as, the rights of a personal security, personal liberty, and private property. -- Coloq. Personal tithes . See under . -- Coloq. Personal verb (Gram.), a verb which is modified or inflected to correspond with the three persons.
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Personal, n. (Law) A movable; a chattel.
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Personalism (?), n. The quality or state of being personal; personality. [R.]
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Personality (?), n.; pl. Personalities (#). [Cf. F. personnalité. Cf. .] 1. That which constitutes distinction of person; the externally evident aspects of the character or behavior of a person; individuality.
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Personality is individuality existing in itself, but with a nature as a ground. Coleridge.
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2. Something said or written which refers to the person, conduct, etc., of some individual, especially something of a disparaging or offensive nature; personal remarks; as, indulgence in personalities.
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Sharp personalities were exchanged. Macaulay.
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3. (Law) That quality of a law which concerns the condition, state, and capacity of persons. Burrill.
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4. A person who is famous or notable; a celebrity.
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Personalize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Personalized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Personalizing (?).] To make personal. “They personalize death.” H. Spencer.
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Personally, adv. 1. In a personal manner; by bodily presence; in person; not by representative or substitute; as, to deliver a letter personally.
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He, being cited, personally came not. Grafton.
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2. With respect to an individual; as regards the person; individually; particularly.
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She bore a mortal hatred to the house of Lancaster, and personally to the king. Bacon.
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3. With respect to one's individuality; as regards one's self; as, personally I have no feeling in the matter.
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Personalty (?), n. 1. The state of being a person; personality. [R.]
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2. (Law) Personal property, as distinguished from realty or real property.
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Personate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Personated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Personating (?).] [L. personare to cry out, LL., to extol. See .] To celebrate loudly; to extol; to praise. [Obs.]
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In fable, hymn, or song so personating
Their gods ridiculous. Milton.
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Personate, v. t. [L. personatus masked, assumed, fictitious, fr. persona a mask. See .] 1. To assume the character of; to represent by a fictitious appearance; to act the part of; hence, to counterfeit; to feign; as, he tried to personate his brother; a personated devotion. Hammond.
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2. To set forth in an unreal character; to disguise; to mask. [R.] “A personated mate.” Milton.
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3. To personify; to typify; to describe. Shak.
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Personate, v. i. To play or assume a character.
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Personate (?), a. [L. personatus masked.] (Bot.) Having the throat of a bilabiate corolla nearly closed by a projection of the base of the lower lip; masked, as in the flower of the snapdragon.
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Personation (?), n. The act of personating, or conterfeiting the person or character of another.
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Personator (?), n. One who personates. “The personators of these actions.” B. Jonson.
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Personeity (?), n. Personality. [R.] Coleridge.
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Personification (?), n. [Cf. F. personnification.] 1. The act of personifying; impersonation; embodiment. C. Knight.
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2. (Rhet.) A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstract idea is represented as animated, or endowed with personality; prosopop�ia; as, the floods clap their hands. “Confusion heards his voice.” Milton.
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Personifier (?), n. One who personifies.
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Personify (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Personified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Personifying (?).] [Person + -fy: cf. F. personnifier.] 1. To regard, treat, or represent as a person; to represent as a rational being.
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The poets take the liberty of personifying inanimate things. Chesterfield.
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2. To be the embodiment or personification of; to impersonate; as, he personifies the law.
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Personize (?), v. t. To personify. [R.]
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Milton has personized them. J. Richardson.
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Personnel (?), n. [F. See .] The body of persons employed in some public service, as the army, navy, etc.; -- distinguished from matériel.
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Perspective (?), a. [L. perspicere, perspectum, to look through; per + spicere, specere, to look: cf. F. perspectif; or from E. perspective, n. See , n.] 1. Of or pertaining to the science of vision; optical. [Obs.] Bacon.
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2. Pertaining to the art, or in accordance with the laws, of perspective.
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Coloq. Perspective plane , the plane or surface on which the objects are delineated, or the picture drawn; the plane of projection; -- distinguished from the ground plane, which is that on which the objects are represented as standing. When this plane is oblique to the principal face of the object, the perspective is called oblique perspective; when parallel to that face, parallel perspective. -- Coloq. Perspective shell (Zoöl.), any shell of the genus Solarium and allied genera. See .
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Perspective, n. [F. perspective, fr. perspectif: cf. It. perspettiva. See , a.] 1. A glass through which objects are viewed. [Obs.] “Not a perspective, but a mirror.” Sir T. Browne.
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2. That which is seen through an opening; a view; a vista. “The perspective of life.” Goldsmith.
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3. The effect of distance upon the appearance of objects, by means of which the eye recognized them as being at a more or less measurable distance. Hence, aërial perspective, the assumed greater vagueness or uncertainty of outline in distant objects.
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Aërial perspective is the expression of space by any means whatsoever, sharpness of edge, vividness of color, etc. Ruskin.
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4. The art and the science of so delineating objects that they shall seem to grow smaller as they recede from the eye; -- called also linear perspective.
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5. A drawing in linear perspective.
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Coloq. Isometrical perspective , an inaccurate term for a mechanical way of representing objects in the direction of the diagonal of a cube. -- Coloq. Perspective glass , a telescope which shows objects in the right position.
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