Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “persuasive” come from?

Persuasive comes from Medieval Latin persuasivus, derived from Middle French persuasif, both meaning "tending to persuade."

persuasive (English): able to persuade; convincing; That which...

Definitions

  1. able to persuade; convincing; That which...

Ancestry of “persuasive”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchpersuasif—
2Medieval Latinpersuasivus—
3Latinpersuaderepresent active infinitive of persuādeō;...
4LatinpersuadeoI persuade, convince; I prevail upon, persuade or...
5Latinper-Used to make adjectives or verbs that are "very"...
6Proto-Italicperi-—

Words derived from “persuasive”

  • persuasively
  • persuasiveness
  • unpersuasive
  • unpersuasively
  • unpersuasiveness
  • nonpersuasive
Every word from Proto-Italic peri- →