Added 10 October 2026
persecution
/ˌpɝsəˈkjuʃən/ noun
Latin root: persecūtio Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about persecution at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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The act of persecuting, especially a specific group of people; an instance of persecution.
Many apartheid perpetrators escaped prosecution for their persecution of black Africans and political dissidents.
Origin
Equivalent to persecute + -ion. From Middle English persecucioun, from Old French persecucion, from Ecclesiastical Latin persecūtio (“persecution; chase, pursuit”), from Latin persequor (“follow up, pursue”), from per- (“through”) + sequor (“follow”). Displaced native Old English ēhtnes.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)