Word of the Day

: November 18, 2012

pertinacious

adjective per-tuh-NAY-shus

What It Means

1 a : adhering resolutely to an opinion, purpose, or design

b : perversely persistent

2 : stubbornly tenacious

pertinacious in Context

He has spent his entire adult life as a pertinacious and unwavering defender of civil rights.

"The 22-year-old paraplegic hasn't let his life-changing accident slow him down. He has branched out to new sports and even continues to snowmobile. He is pertinacious." - From an article by Tom Patrick in Yukon News, August 31, 2012

Did You Know?

If you say "pertinacious" out loud, it might sound familiar. That may be because if you take away the word's first syllable, you're left with something very similar to the word "tenacious," which means "tending to adhere or cling." The similarity between "pertinacious" and "tenacious" isn't mere coincidence; both words derive from "tenax," the Latin word for "tenacious," and ultimately from the verb "tenēre," meaning "to hold." Another descendant of "tenēre" is "tenure," a word that is typically used of the right to hold a job (especially a teaching position) for as long as desired.