Etymograph

English

persecution

Persecution comes from Latin persequor ‘follow up, pursue’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-1‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékʷetor1‘to be following’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷōr1‘to follow, come/go after’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequor2‘follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpersequor2‘follow up, pursue’
  6. Ecclesiastical Latinc. 200–1500persecūtio2
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400persecucion2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500persecucioun2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2004persecution2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sequor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English persecution
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, Protection: “During the early 20th century, wolves were considered undesirable.…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-Wiktionary, Latin sequor‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékʷetorWiktionary, Latin sequor‘to be following’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷōrWiktionary, Latin sequor‘to follow, come/go after’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequorWiktionary, English persecution‘follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpersequorWiktionary, English persecution‘follow up, pursue’
  6. Ecclesiastical Latinc. 200–1500persecūtioWiktionary, English persecution
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400persecucionWiktionary, English persecution
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500persecuciounWiktionary, English persecution
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2004persecutionWiktionary, English persecution. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, Protection: “During the early 20th century, wolves were considered undesirable.…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’

see, say, social, saw, society, second, sight, associate, executive, subsequent, sue, suite, saga, consequence, consequently, intrinsic, sequential, extrinsic, dissociation, sequestration, dissociate, sequester, seg, 31 more

through Proto-Italic *sekʷōr ‘to follow, come/go after’

pursuit, suitor, 17 more

through Latin sequor ‘follow’

suit, sequence, pursue, sequel, execute, consecutive, prosecution, sect, ensue, consequent, executor, segue, sequitur, 19 more

Today it means

noun The act of persecuting, especially a specific group of people; an instance of persecution.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “persecution”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin sequor. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- / persecution

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