Etymograph

English

pervicacious

Pervicacious comes from Latin pervicāx ‘firm, determined, persistent, dogged’, from pervincō ‘to conquer’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to sift, separate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-1‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*winékti ~ *winkénti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*winkō1‘to tie, bind’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvincō1‘to defeat, vanquish, beat’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpervincō2‘to conquer’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpervicāx3‘firm, determined, persistent, dogged’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1748pervicacious3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin pervinco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin pervicax
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English pervicacious
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1748, Samuel Richardson, Letter XXII: “You are recommended, Miss, to the practice of your…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-Wiktionary, Latin pervinco‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*winékti ~ *winkéntiWiktionary, Latin pervincoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*winkōWiktionary, Latin pervinco‘to tie, bind’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvincōWiktionary, Latin pervinco‘to defeat, vanquish, beat’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpervincōWiktionary, Latin pervicax‘to conquer’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpervicāxWiktionary, English pervicacious‘firm, determined, persistent, dogged’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1748pervicaciousWiktionary, English pervicacious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1748, Samuel Richardson, Letter XXII: “You are recommended, Miss, to the practice of your…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to sift, separate’

province, victim, weakness, witch, icon, victor, wicked, wo, wight, weakly, vicar, wile, ancona, waw, 31 more

through Latin vincō ‘to defeat, vanquish, beat’

victory, convince, conviction, convict, invincible, eviction, victorious, evict, vanquish, 8 more

Today it means

adj Extremely stubborn or headstrong; wilful, obstinate.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pervicacious”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin pervinco, Latin pervicax. 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 *weyk- / pervicacious

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