Etymograph

English

pervicacity

Pervicacity 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. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpervicācitās3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1911pervicacity3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin pervinco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin pervicax
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English pervicacity
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1911, Edward Tyas Cook: “Pervicacity of humour, of tastes, of character is one…”.

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 pervicacity‘firm, determined, persistent, dogged’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpervicācitāsWiktionary, English pervicacity
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1911pervicacityWiktionary, English pervicacity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1911, Edward Tyas Cook: “Pervicacity of humour, of tastes, of character is one…”

Linked words

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

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

through Latin vincō ‘to defeat, vanquish, beat’

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

Today it means

noun obstinacy; pervicaciousness

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pervicacity”; 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- / pervicacity

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